•Nurses urge FG to declare state of emergency in health sector
Leadership of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) is meeting, today, to appraise the Federal Government’s response to its demands.
At a meeting with NARD leadership, on September 6, 2017, the federal government agreed to pay arrears of salaries, latest by September 8.
Government committed itself to paying off N22 billion owed NARD.
A member of NARD National Executive Council, Dr Arikawe Adeolu, said in Abuja, yesterday, that today’s meeting would allow the leadership appraise the events since its meeting with government.
Adeolu, who is also NARD General Secretary, Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi, Abuja, said the outcome of the appraisal would determine whether the nationwide indefinite strike would be called off or not.
He said the appraisal was necessary as more than 90 per cent of members were yet to receive their arrears as at 3:00pm, yesterday, but expressed optimism that government would pay up as it has disbursed the arrears to the hospitals accordingly.
“The federal government claims that money has been paid to the hospitals so, we needed to confirm from members across the country if they have received their salary arrears.
“Money is not usually paid directly to doctors; it is sent to the hospitals so what we are trying to do now is to verify whether the money has come into the hospitals for onward payment. By today, we should have a clear view of whether this money has been paid or not,” Adeolu said.
Adeolu had earlier said some of the agreements reached with the federal government could not be fulfilled immediately except the payment of salary arrears to members.
NARD met with the Ministers of Health and his Labour counterpart, Prof. Isaac Adewole and Dr Chris Ngige, respectively, last Wednesday.
The purpose of the meeting was to find ways on how to end the strike.
The doctors are protesting the sack of some of their colleagues, non-payment of “skipping’’ entitlement, non-inclusion in the IPPIS platform and non-payment of their salary arrears, among others.
The industrial action commenced on September 4.
Meanwhile, National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives, Federal Health Institution Sector, has called on the government to declare a state of emergency in the health sector.
The association made the call in a statement issued by its National Public Relations Officer, Mr. Aliyu Shehu, in Abuja.
It said that an emergency approach was needed to resolve the issues that bother on health administration, practice, headship, representation, benefits, and welfare of all stakeholders in the industry.
It noted that the resolution of issues in contention with members of the National Association of Resident Doctors would open up a chain of industrial actions by other unions and associations in the health industry.
NANNM claimed that the issues it presented to government predated those of NARD, which the Health and Laboir ministries ignored, in spite of court judgments.
The association listed some of their demands to include chronic shortage of both general and specialised manpower in the various institutions.
Others included inadequate provision of medical consumables and services, stagnation, re-designation, and demotion of members.
It also called for restoration of payment of teaching allowance to deserving members and payment of arrears owed from 2011 to date, in most hospitals.