The Federal Ministry of Health has suspended residency training programme in federal hospitals.
A statement issued by the Deputy Director of Press, Federal Ministry of Health, Mr. Isiaka Yusuf said that The Federal Government has decided that Residency Training Programme in Federal Government Hospitals be suspended pending the conclusion of the ongoing appraisal of the challenges in the health sector, and that the directive is without prejudice to any emergency measure that may be necessary for the hospital management to immediately restore full medical services.
The Federal Government noted that the strike by members of the Nigeria Medical Association has resulted in untold hardship on innocent members of the society who were in need of medical care.
According to the statement,”the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) made good its threat of 11th June 2014 by calling out its members on an industrial strike action on the 1st of July despite the Federal Government’s successive intervention meetings and dialogue including extensive deliberations with the leadership of the NMA on 25th and 26th June 2014, where agreements were reached on each of the 24 demands and an MoU was signed by both parties”.
The statement adds that “in the midst of the strike action, the Federal Government had also cultivated the attention and intervention of some eminent personalities in order to prevail on the NMA leadership to respect the ethics of their profession and end the strike whilst the dialogue is ongoing.
The health ministry further said that the Federal Government has implemented more than 90 per cent of its responsibilities as signed by both parties, and that at the conclusion of each meeting, the NMA promised to call off the strike but would return another day to say that they could not.
The statement further adds that “for the whole of July 2014, these doctors did not work yet government, owing to the emergency situation in our country, paid them the July salaries with allowances such as call duty allowance, teaching allowance, hazard allowance, etc, believing that this magnanimity of government would appeal to reason for NMA to call off the strike”.
As far as the Ministry of Health is concerned, the strike can be considered as one of the most insensitive steps to be taken by any association or a labour union in the history of this country.
The statement also adds that pertinent to the issue under discussion are the current security challenges in the country with the attendant mass casualties, warning that the situation has been compounded by the recent importation of the Ebola Virus Disease into Nigeria on 20th July 2014.
”Following the Presidential declaration of a National Public Health Emergency on Ebola Disease which has united the entire country in the efforts to contain the disease, it is quite regrettable that the people who should take leadership role in the fight against Ebola disease are now the most unsupportive. All efforts by Government to contain this disease are being frustrated by the continued industrial strike action of the NMA”, it said.
The Federal Government has also reassured the public that optimal medical health care delivery will be sustained in hospitals.
