LUTH Resident Doctors Protest Over Sacking [Read More]

The Association of Resident Doctors, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH-ARD) Chapter, Idi-Araba, on Monday protested the suspension of residency training in all the federal teaching hospitals by the Federal Government.

NAN reports that the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, had on 13 August, issued a directive terminating the residency training for doctors until further notice.

The Vice President of the Association, Dr Afolabi Akinkunmi, said the protest was in response to the Federal Government’s decision to sack 16, 000 resident doctors nationwide.

  The decision to terminate residency training is a draconian move designed by the government to end the strike without having to enter further negotiation with the doctors about the strike.

“We are asking government to come back to the negotiation table, because a lot of the demands are genuine and should be resolved once and for all.

“The doctors themselves are tired of the incessant strikes but they have persisted in this strike so that when these issues are resolved, there would be no cause for another strike down the line,” he said.

On the Ebola Virus Disease, he said that the strike and the Ebola outbreak were two separate issues which the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) had already considered and resolved.

“You cannot treat Ebola in teaching hospitals; it should be treated in an investigation or isolation centre.

“That is the international best practice that is being used in Liberia and Sierra Leone.

“The NMA has a committee that has ensured that the resident doctors who specialise in infectious diseases have made themselves available to treat the Ebola patients during the strike.

Some of them were at work, when they received the news that they had been sacked; this is unfair,” he said.

Akinkunmi feared that over 50 per cent of resident doctors in the country would lose their positions with the suspension.

“According to Nigerian Medical and Dental Council (NMDC), there are 26,000 registered doctors in Nigeria and now the government wants to sack 16,000.

“Where is the government going to find replacements for these doctors?

“Although Nigeria has a lot of doctors in the Diaspora, until conditions improve, patriotism will not be enough to persuade them to return to care for the country’s patients,” he said.

He said that resident doctors in LUTH were hoping the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the institution, Prof. Akin Oshibogun, would relay the appeal to the minister and the president.

“We have presented a letter to the Chief Medical Director of LUTH, Prof. Akin Osibogun,” he said.

In her reaction, Mrs Hope Nwalolo, Public Relations Officer of LUTH, said that the suspension of the residency training was a national directive and the management had no say in the matter.