DOCTORS SNUB FG AS NMA FAILS TO CALL OFF THE STRIKE

Contrary to the expectations of many Nigerians and the promise of the Minister of Health, Mr. Onyebuchi Chukwu, that the strike embarked upon by the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) on July 1 would be called off on Monday, the  doctors have reiterated their resolve not to return to work until their demands are met.

The NMA held an  emergency delegates meeting in Abuja. The meeting, which started at about 10:20p.m. on Monday night, ended at 3:45 on Tuesday morning. Aside from the national executive of the association and delegates from its state chapters, other stakeholders attended the meeting. They included the Minister of Health, Chuwku, Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, Ondo State Governor, Olusegun Mimiko, Chairman of Senate Committee on Health, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa and his House of  Representatives counterpart, Mr. Ndudi Elumelu.
It became glaring that the  meeting ended with no positive result  by yesterday morning when the NMA cancelled a press conference it had earlier scheduled for 11a.m.  The association later issued a terse statement in the evening, vowing to continue with the strike.
The statement read: “The NMA held an emergency delegates meeting on Monday,  July 7, 2014 at the Savannah Suite Hotel and Resort, Area 3, Garki, Abuja in which delegates from the 36 states and the FCT attended and after a holistic review of the circulars and resolutions reached between the NMA and the Federal Government negotiation team, the delegates were not satisfied with the outcome of the meeting between the two parties. The delegates then resolved to continue with the strike until the Federal Government do the needful as it relates to the minimum end point of the NMA to the Federal Government towards facing the challenges of the health sector and the restoration of sanity.”
Speaking on the decision of the NMA, president of an affiliate organisation, the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN), Dr. Steven Oluwole, explained that the strike was not called off because most of the issues raised by the doctors had not been sufficiently addressed by government.
MDCAN has said its members would be providing services in hospitals based on the restraining order contained in a ruling by the National Industrial Court in its case against the Federal Government in which both parties were asked to maintain the status quo until the case was resolved.
Oluwole said:  “The restraint and caution of the MDCAN should not be used to malign junior doctors to accept suffering and smiling attitude. Junior doctors are at the frontline of patient management. They work endless hours in the hospitals. When Government permits skipping support and administrative staff who work less hours earn relatively more than the junior doctors. Sophisticated administrative and establishment arguments of why there should be no skipping for doctors will not placate  them.”
On how long his members are going to with treating patients considering the resolve of doctors not to return to work, he said: “ As  long as it takes. But you have to appreciate that it will be deceptive to expect Consultants to maintain the system for longer than the very short term.
“Since hospitals are not designed for only Consultants to function, quick resolutions are needed before the situation deteriorates further”.