The Federal Government on Thursday took what many considered a far reaching decision in its face-off with members of the Nigerian Medical Association when it announced the suspension of the residency training programme for doctors.
The training programme entails doctors undergoing training in-house under experienced doctors.
The National Association of Resident Doctors constitute the major arm of the NMA and in most cases champions strike actions by doctors.
A statement on Thursday by the Deputy Director of Press of the Federal Ministry of Health, Alhaji Isiaka Yusuf, said the suspension of the residency programme became necessary because of the many futile attempts of the Federal Government to talk the doctors out of their strike.
Yusuf recalled the many moves made the Federal Government to persuade the doctors.
He said the situation is now more saddening as the doctors have refused to call off their strike and join in finding solution to the outbreak of the Ebola virus in the country.
He said: “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.
“This strike action 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. Pertinent to the issue under discussion are the current security challenges in the country with the attendant mass casualties. 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.”
The Federal Government said in this regard, there was the need to suspend the residency programme until in concludes its reorganisation of the health sector.
The statement by Yusuf recalled the many efforts made by the government to resolve the face off with the NMA.
It said: “The public may recall the protracted strike action by members of the Nigeria Medical Association consequent on which untold hardship has befallen innocent members of the society who were in need of medical care.
“The Nigerian Medical Association made good its threat of 11th June 2014 by calling out its members on 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.
“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. These personalities included the Governor of Delta State, the Secretary to Government of the Federation, members of the National Assembly especially the Senate and House Committees on Heath respectively, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Chairman, National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, the Honourable Ministers of Health and Labour and Productivity, the Honourable Minister of State for Health, Presidents and Registrars of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria, the West African College of Physicians and West African College Surgeons, traditional rulers, eminent and senior members of the medical profession and past executives of the NMA.
“It should be stressed that the Federal Government went has implemented more than 90 percent of its responsibilities as signed by both parties. 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 therefore told the leadership of the hospitals to find a way of restoring full medical services.
It said the directive to suspend the residency programme “is without prejudice to any emergency measure that may be necessary for the hospital management to immediately restore full medical services.”
The Federal Government told Nigerians that optimal medical health care delivery will be sustained in the hospitals.
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