The chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Lagos Chapter, Dr Francis Faduyile, says the government is not showing sincerity in resolving the issues that led to the strike by the association.

It has been 11 days since the association began a nationwide strike to coerce the Nigerian government to meet their demands.

Representatives of the government and those of the association met last week in an attempt to resolve the issues, but no resolution was reached.

After the meeting, the government was confident that the strike would be called-off in few days, but nothing of such has happened, instead the doctors insisted that the strike would continue, saying no agreement was reached.

On Channels Television’s programme, Sunrise Daily, on Friday, Mr Faduyile said that the doctors had decided to continue with the strike after the government showed less commitment to resolving the issues that led to the strike.

According to him, most of the demands of the association had not been met, one of which he said was the appointment of more than three directors to head hospitals, contrary to the number stipulated by the Act that established the hospitals.

He insisted that the appointment of ‘20 to 30’ directors in some cases was of no significance.

“Having 22 to 30 directors in a hospital has nothing to do with improving patients’ care. If we must have that number of directors, why not push them to the ministry where they can work effectively.

“Only three directors are what were contained in the Act. We have several places we have four, five, six directors. What is the ministry doing about that? The government should do something about it,” he insisted.

One other issue that Mr Faduyile hammered on was that of the appointment of consultants. He insisted that “the scheme of the service states that a consultant is a medical doctor who has had further specialist training, but you have people who do not have the MBBS or BBS Degree being appointed”.

Disjointed System

The NMA Lagos Chapter chairman further said that the association would have called-off the strike if the government had shifted ground.

“We looked at what the government had put in place in trying to resolve the issues and we found out that the government had not shifted ground.

“They have not shown any sincerity in resolving the issue.

“Once you have a system that will complicate the seamless treatment of ailment that a patient has, it might be difficult to have a patient management system that might be proper,” he said, apparently referring to the delay in patients’ treatment that the number of directors in a hospital could cause.

“What we have now is a system where the doctor’s work is made difficult because of the disjointed nature of the system for long years.

“Once there is a law, we can fit everybody into his or her duty. We do not have a direct strict rule.

“The Federal Ministry of Health should come into the issue and intervene to reduce the number of directors that are in a hospital,” Mr Faduyile stressed.

He further emphasised that “the issue of directors heading the hospitals is taking medicine out of the day-to-day politics of the Ministry”.

Another issue that made the doctors continued the strike after the meeting with government’s representatives was the fact that the government told the association that it would take another three months before they would begin to implement the agreement reached at the meeting.

The government had expressed disappointment over the continuation of the strike despite a memorandum signed after the meeting with association representatives, insisting that the basis of continuing with the strike is unfounded giving that the issues have been addressed squarely.

Patients’ In Pains

The nationwide strike has entered its ‘day-11’ and it is beginning to take its toll on patients at different hospital who are now being attended to by nurses who in some cases are not enough to attend to all in due time.

Some patients expressed worries that if the strike continued for long, it would have adverse effect on their health and urged the doctors and the government to resolve the issues.

The association is, among other things, demanding the stoppage of the appointment of non-doctors as directors and consultants.

They are also demanding the immediate passage of the National Health Bill, appointment of a Surgeon-General of the Federation, the payment of 100,000 Naira hazard allowance for medical doctors and the skipping of level 12 by medical and dental practitioners.

The Health Bill has been passed by the Senate.