Posted on: Wed 24-06-2015

As a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member you are supposed to serve your national with a dedicated and peaceful heart but this is not the case with the corps member doctors/dentists serving in Edo state.

MY EXPERIENCE:

The posting of these sets of professionals to their places of primary assignment (PPA) has become a nightmare to the professionals. This is so because the officials in charge of posting them to their PPA have said they have a directive from Abuja not to post them to ‘’teaching hospital’’ and private clinics except to state government hospital.

Please note that the government of Edo state rejected these set of professional because they claim they cannot pay them.

NYSC claim they do not send corps member doctors to teaching hospital and private clinic because of the directives from Abuja. My concern is the inability of the NYSC official to properly categorize the teaching hospitals and private clinic per se. While it is clear that the hospital management board in Edo state is rejecting these professional corps members, they are left with fewer centers where they would serve their father land.  However, the inconsistency in the manner NYSC officials carry out their post has become worrisome. While they claim teaching hospital is out of it, they have also refuse to post to NNPC clinic claiming it is an oil company; please someone should tell me when they started drilling oil in clinics. Even though they ruled out private clinic from their posting list yet they would post some to Faith Mediplex but would refuse to post to Igbinedion hospital claiming it is teaching hospital. What is then a teaching hospital? NYSC should not forget that Faith Mediplex apart from been a private clinic also run a residency program where they train resident doctors. What is then the basis for deploying to Faith Mediplex and their refusal to post these professionals to Igbinedion Hospital, NNPC-owned clinic, St. Philomena? The irony of this story is that all the centers that NYSC have refused to send corps member doctors/dentist to have all expressed their readiness to absorb them since the state is rejecting them. Some of these centers have even forwarded request letters to the Edo state chapter of NYSC requesting for these professionals but have been turned down.

As a result of this problem these professionals are left to their fate to find out not just where will accept them but where NYSC is ready to post them. Some of the medical doctors may eventually find themselves in these big private clinic but the dental surgeon are more in difficult situation due to the limited centers ready to accept them. Eventually the state will ask those that would want to work with them to sign an undertaken that they will not be paid. This I have termed ‘’Work Without Wages---WWW. Edopolicy.com’’. Some of them especially the dental surgeons among them, have to even plead with some of these big private clinic to work/serve in their clinic treating patients without pay yet making money for them  all because they have to serve their father land.

I consider this act an insult and a disgrace on the part of the Edo state government as they take advantage of these highly skilled workers because they are corps members. Also annoying is the inability of the NYSC to properly categorise the centers they post these professionals to. If you claim they cannot be posted to federal teaching hospital like UBTH what about NNPC-owned medical clinic, university health centers? Suffices to say that the state NYSC is aware that these professionals are meant to sign an undertaken (especially by the Edo state hospital management board) that they will not be paid while they make money for the state in name of serving their father land.

The Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) should as a matter of urgency swing into action to stop the menace been perpetuated by both the state government and NYSC. The profession has a reputation to protect and should not be ridiculed. If this issue is not tackled what you will hear next is that our junior colleagues will now be sent to serve teaching physics in one private school behind your house. A doctors/dentist should not be pleading to treat patient without been paid. I want to again plead with NMA and MDCN to act quickly.

I may not know how NYSC categorise where and where not to post these group of professional but these ‘’horror movie’’ should end please.

Thanks.

Long live Nigeria

Long live the medical profession.

DR AGHIMIEN OSARONSE ANTHONY

CC.

• The Director General National Youth Service Corp
• Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (National)
• Nigeria Medical Association (National)
• The Commissioner Edo state Ministry of Health
• Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (Edo state Branch)
• Nigeria Medical Association (Edo state branch)
• Nigeria Dental Association (Edo state branch)
• Medical Women Association of Nigeria (Edo state branch)

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