The Nasarawa State Council of Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) has begun a five-day warning strike after the expiration of the three weeks ultimatum issued to the state government.
Dr. Peter Attah,
NMA Chairman in the state made the disclosure while briefing newsmen on
Wednesday in Lafia. According to the NMA chairman, the decision to embark on
the strike was taken at an emergency meeting of the association on Tuesday,
July 4, 2023.
The
chairman said he explained to the congress a previous meeting with the
delegation of the government led by Dr Emmanuel
Akabe, the Deputy Governor, on two occasions but no serious commitment
allegedly came from the government.
“We meet two times after our ultimatum on June 13,
but unfortunately the government is only paying lip service and was not serious
about meeting our demands,” he said.
He added that after hearing the updates, the congress
unanimously agreed that members should withdraw their services in all the state
government-owned facilities from 8:00am on Wednesday, July 5 to 8:00am on
Monday, July 10.
“If by Monday July 10, the government still refuses
to meet our demands, we will call for a congress meeting and decide on the next
line of action,” Dr. Attah added.
The NMA
chairman further said that because the association has the interest of the
health sector at heart, it decided to allow doctors with Federal Medical Centre
(FMC) Keffi continue to render services for now.
“But if the government refuses to resolve the
lingering issues by Monday, we may be forced to ask our colleagues in FMC and
private facilities to join the strike,” he said.
He listed
some of their demands to include: non-implementation of promotions for doctors
and annual salary increment for over nine years, non-implementation of ₦30,000
minimum wage and consequential adjustments.
Others are: non-implementation of the reviewed hazard
allowance circular and the accrued 19 months arrears, high burden of taxation,
inadequate manpower and overworking.
He said
that 25 doctors who were employed in 2014 at Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital
(DASH) Lafia and the State Hospital Management Board were not promoted for nine
years now.
According
to him, the association had given the state government enough time to address
their demands but the government seems insensitive to their plight. He revealed
further that 88 medical doctors left the service of the state in 2023 alone due
to poor welfare package.
He
explained that the shortage of doctors is putting so much pressure on the few
ones who have decided to stay, to the extent that doctors now prefer to work in
rural areas than facilities in urban areas.
He
explained that the 19 general hospitals in the state have only 33 doctors which
he described as grossly inadequate by any standard.
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