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Tag: Association of Resident Doctors (ARD)

  • Resident doctors begin indefinite strike in Ondo

    Resident doctors begin indefinite strike in Ondo

    Members of Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), University of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital (UNIMEDTH), Ondo town chapter, have begun indefinite strike over alleged poor condition of service.

    The doctors were said to have protested on Monday after management of the hospital refused to accede to their demands.

    They demanded a stop to illegal deductions from their salaries, check on huge payment of taxes, non-payment of hazard allowance, among others.

    President of UNIMEDTH ARD, Dr Olaogbe Kehinde, said the workload was too much for doctors in the hospital.

    He said many doctors had resigned, while others left without prior notification due to poor condition of service.

    Olaogbe said the hospital management refused to pay heed to their request for a review of their working conditions.

    He said the strike was a difficult decision due to failure to address critical issues affecting their members, infrastructure and the delivery of quality health care services.

    Olaogbe said doctors could no longer work under conditions that undermined their well-being and compromised patient care.

    He urged the state government to expedite payment of outstanding salaries and allowances, improve working conditions in the three centres across the state and ensure prompt implementation of their demands.

    “We demand the correction of irregularities and discrepancies in salary payments, implementation of the new minimum wage scale and parity in salary payments with other tertiary hospitals, as stipulated in the teaching hospital constitution, among other issues.

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    “We deeply regret any inconvenience this strike may cause patients and the public.”

    Former president of the striking doctors, Dr. John Matthew, said the disparity between the salary of doctors in Ondo State and others was huge due to illegal deductions and taxes.

    He said many doctors in the state had taken up appointments in other states.

    “We will not return to work until our demands are met. Money is the core issue because this is what is driving doctors away. There is huge disparity in payment between Ondo and Ogun states. Doctors will go to states that are giving them good welfare packages, but they are worsening the terrible welfare here.

    “The issues are illegal deductions from our salary and the humongous taxes we are paying. It is killing the system and driving doctors away.

    “The hospital was disconnected from the national grid and we were sleeping and working in the dark,” Matthew added.

    Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr Gbala Michael, pleaded with the striking doctors for more time, to enable management address their grievances.

  • LUTH: 10 resident doctors allegedly injured during clash with security men

    LUTH: 10 resident doctors allegedly injured during clash with security men

    Ten members of the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba Chapter, were allegedly injured by some security men from the teaching hospital on Wednesday during a clash.

    Dr Adebayo Sekunmade, the president of the ARD of the hospital told newsmen during a news conference.

    He said that the doctors sustained injuries when they attempted to take over their secretariat from the security men stationed there by LUTH’s management.

    Sekunmade told journalists that one of his members was inside the ARD’s secretariat at 2.00 a.m. on Tuesday but the security men ordered him out and locked it up.

    “We decided to monitor developments around the secretariat after the incident. On Wednesday morning, we saw the security men loading our belongings from there into a waiting bus.

    “When we confronted them, they said that they were directed to lock up the secretariat by the management of LUTH.

    “We went to the Chief Medical Director’s office for dialogue but he refused to attend to us. He, however, directed us to the Chairman of the Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC) of LUTH,’’ he said.

    Sekunmade said that the CMAC, Dr Olufemi Fasanmade, told them that the management of LUTH was retrieving the secretariat from the ARD.

    Sekunmade said that he demanded a court order from Fasanmade to justify his action but he could not present it.

    When contacted, the CMAC told journalists that LUTH’s management had given the ARD a letter asking it to vacate the building serving as its secretariat, six months ago.

    “Nine days ago; we gave them another letter as a reminder to leave the building but they refused, and we decided to lock up the place,’’ he said.

    Fasanmade said that the association should not have found it hard to vacate one of the seven accommodations it had within the hospital complex.

    He said that the management wanted to use it for an important purpose.

    “The doctors wanted to forcefully enter the building on Wednesday’s morning and LUTH’s security men had to disallow them.’’

    Fasanmade said that the doctors resulted into attacking the security officials.

    “We had to invite some police officers from the Ilasamaja and Bode Thomas Police Stations to secure the building and other LUTH’s belongings.

    “Some of the injured security officials are in the hospital wards receiving treatment,’’ Fasanmade said.

  • LUTH: 10 resident doctors allegedly injured during clash with security men

    LUTH: 10 resident doctors allegedly injured during clash with security men

    Ten members of the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), secretariat Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba Chapter, were allegedly injured by some security men from the teaching hospital on Wednesday during a clash.

    Dr Adebayo Sekunmade, the president of the ARD of the hospital told newsmen during a news conference.

    He said that the doctors sustained injuries when they attempted to take over their secretariat from the security men stationed there by LUTH’s management.

    Sekunmade told journalists that one of his members was inside the Secretariat at 2.00 a.m. on Tuesday but the security men ordered him out and locked it up.

    “We decided to monitor developments around the secretariat after the incident. On Wednesday morning, we saw the security men loading our belongings from there into a waiting bus.

    “When we confronted them, they said that they were directed to lock up the secretariat by the management of LUTH.

    “We went to the Chief Medical Director’s office for dialogue but he refused to attend to us. He, however, directed us to the Chairman of the Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC) of LUTH,’’ he said.

    Sekunmade said that the CMAC, Dr Olufemi Fasanmade, told them that the management of LUTH was retrieving the secretariat from the ARD.

    Sekunmade said that he demanded a court order from Fasanmade to justify his action but he could not present it.

    When contacted, the CMAC told journalists that LUTH’s management had given the ARD a letter asking it to vacate the building serving as its secretariat, six months ago.

    “Nine days ago; we gave them another letter as a reminder to leave the building but they refused, and we decided to lock up the place,’’ he said.

    Fasanmade said that the association should not have found it hard to vacate one of the seven accommodations it had within the hospital complex.

    He said that the management wanted to use it for an important purpose.

    “The doctors wanted to forcefully enter the building on Wednesday’s morning and LUTH’s security men had to disallow them.’’

    Fasanmade said that the doctors resulted into attacking the security officials.

    “We had to invite some police officers from the Ilasamaja and Bode Thomas Police Stations to secure the building and other LUTH’s belongings.

    “Some of the injured security officials are in the hospital wards receiving treatment,’’ Fasanmade said.

  • Kogi resident doctors join national protest

    Kogi resident doctors join national protest

    The Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) in Federal Medical Centre, Lokoja, has joined the strike by National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) to register their displeasure with the management of Nigeria’s health system.

    The ARD President in Lokoja, Dr Kennedy Obohwemu, said on Friday that his members were part and parcel of NARD and were duty bound to comply with the directive.

    “NARD directed its members to carry out peaceful protests by wearing black ward coats and conducting rallies at the expiration of the initial ultimatum given to the Federal Government on Jan. 2.

    NARD, on Dec. 19, gave the Federal Government up to Jan. 2 to implement the National Health Act, 2014, while asking it to address the lingering issues beleaguering the health sector, especially as it affects resident doctors.

    “With due respect to constituted authority in the Federal Ministry of Health, our actions today have become necessary considering the protracted saga and unfathomable quagmire resident doctors across the country find themselves in.

    “Apart from the fact that we are following instructions from our national body, we believe it is time to take the bull by the horn and address these persistent problems once and for all.

    “Let the whole world know what resident doctors are going through. Our patients deserve the best of healthcare delivery.

    “We cannot do that when we, the healthcare providers, are not in the right frame of mind.

    “The medical profession is going through the toughest of times in recent years. Our black jackets and black bands symbolize the death of our healthcare delivery system.

    “We ask for a resurrection, a revamping of the system, such that the average Nigerian can confidently access quality healthcare at affordable rates.”

    Obohwemu lamented the pitiable state of Nigeria’s health system, citing the need for Federal Government to urgently intervene and prevent massive exodus of doctors to the outside world for greener pastures.

    “The same hospital one fails to equip today may be the closest hospital that could save one’s life tomorrow.

    “NARD demands are not outrageous, but these issues have been neglected for far too long, thus placing the future of the medical profession in jeopardy.

    “We need a uniform template for the residency training programme; structural framework must be clearly spelt out in a consistent unbiased manner and applied universally.

    “Since enactment in 2014, the National Health Act is yet to be implemented. We want the implementation of July 14th 2016 agreement with government as soon as possible; that is our agitation.

    “This legal document provides a framework for the regulation, development and management of a health system and sets standards for rendering health services in Nigeria.

    “The Act ensures that patients are given the best of healthcare delivery with availability of health infrastructure, while ensuring that the rights of health care personnel are protected,” he said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the resident doctors carried placards with various inscriptions such as: “We condemn selective implementation of no work, no pay”.

    Other inscriptions read: “Equity, fairness and justice”, “Migrate all doctors to IPPIS platforms”,“Residents are pensionable, Pay outstanding arrears”.

    “ Skipping is sacrosanct, we stand with NARD”, “Federal Ministry of Health and the Federal Government should implement 2014 National Health Act’’, among others.

  • Boko Haram: Resident doctors provide free medical services to orphans in Borno

    Boko Haram: Resident doctors provide free medical services to orphans in Borno

    The Borno Chapter of the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) on Wednesday said it provided free medical services to no fewer than 200 children made orphans as a result of the Boko Haram insurgency.

    The ARD President in the state, Dr Ibrahim Kuburi, stated this during a visit to the Fatima Ali Sherrif Motherless Babies Home in Maiduguri.

    Kuburi said the gesture was part of the association’s free scientific week outreach to vulnerable victims of the Boko Haram insurgency.

    “As you can see, we have specialists which in include physicians, surgeons, ophthalmologists, pathologist, paediatricians and radiologist.

    “We have conducted our clinical examinations and treatment was offered while some referrals were made on some of the babies.

    “We discovered that some of the children are suffering from diseases like pertusis growth with a very contagious respiratory tract infection and mumps viral disease.

    “We are also saddened to discover that the children were not immunised which poses a great danger to their health.

    “ We also noticed disability among two of the children,” Kuburi said.

    He said the children were being referred for proper evaluation and treatment as well as enrolment in  the immunisation programme.

    The ARD president said the group also brought assorted food items for the orphans to cushion their hardship

    Hajiya Yada Abbayusuf, the coordinator of the orphanage, said most of the children were victims of insurgency while some of them were brought by public spirited residents  as missing children.

  • Religious activities can help stabilise people with mental conditions — Psychiatrist

    Religious activities can help stabilise people with mental conditions, a Consultant Psychiatrist, Prof. Olatunji Aina, has said.

    Aina said this on Friday in Lagos while addressing participants at the Annual Conference of the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital (FNPH), Yaba.

    The theme of the conference was: `Religion and Mental Illness`.

    Aina, who lectures at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, said: “The mentally ill most times use religion to cope with their distress.

    “Also, religious activities including prayers, fasting, church and mosque attendance, spirituality, are known to attenuate psychiatric symptoms, discourage suicide and even heal physical illnesses.“

    The consultant said, however, that many fake religious leaders in the past and in recent times used religion in ways that were injurious to people’s mental health and lives generally.

    According to him, such religious leaders tend to pursue material things at the expense of the welfare of members.

    “These fake leaders make frightening prophecies and cause disharmony in the family and so many families have been scattered as a result.

    “Also, some illiterate religious leaders teach false doctrines.

    “For example, (some of them can tell you that) mental illness is as a result of sin.

    “Most of these religious leaders are charlatans and criminals, that is, wolves in sheep clothing.

    “These are some of the disadvantages of religion to mental health in Nigeria,“ Aina said.

    Also speaking, another Consultant Psychiatrist, Dr Bolanle Ola, urged psychiatrists to be sensitive to the needs and concerns of patients.

    He also underscored the need for psychiatrists to taking cognisance of patients’ religious beliefs in addressing their plights.

    Ola, a lecturer at the Lagos State University College of Medicine, Ikeja, said psychiatrists were trained to use techniques that would help patients achieve optimal performance.

    “If your patient believes in God and if that belief will help him realise his potentials, definitely, we need to assist, because what we practice is patient-centred care.

    “As a psychiatrist, you know that in taking some aspects of the patient’s religion into consideration, you can increase his or her quality of life,“ he said.

    He said it was inappropriate for religious institutions to house sick people.

    According to him, sick people are taken care of at the hospital.

    “Religious institutions may not be the best place for some people with mental health problems because we also realise that mental illness can co-exist with a lot of physical health problems.

    “The religious leaders do not have the training to be able to cope with this and do not know that there is increased the risk of death for the individual,“ Ola added.

    In his remarks, the President, ARD, FNPH, Dr Kenneth Uwajeh, said the theme was chosen based on the fact that experiences were associated with religious practices in Nigeria.

    Uwajeh said: “Also, some people believe that mental illnesses are due to spiritual causes.

    “Yes, there is a relationship, but we want to dispel the opinion that it must be exclusively spiritually inclined.

    “We want to bring information to people, make them know that despite hearing voices or other spiritual experiences, there are treatments that are scientifically proven and therapeutically effective.

  • UPTH resident doctors suspend strike

    …Management applauds Health Minister’s intervention during the crisis

     

    Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) branch has suspended ten weeks strike embarked upon by the union on August 3rd , 2016 following some local and national issues that were in contention.

    In a joint press briefing Thursday in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, which was led by the Chief Medical Director (CMD) Prof. Aaron Ojule, with other senior staff of the hospital and the leadership of the resident doctors, call for immediate resumption of duty by all staff of the hospital.

    Prof. Ojule while addressing the press applauded the Minster of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, his counterpart Dr. Osagie Ehanire, the resident doctors and other medical elders who he said were instrumental in the resolution of the crises.

    He said there has been a significant paradigm-shift in the funding and running of public hospitals in Nigeria, adding that public hospital including UPTH now rely heavily on internally generated revenue in order to sustain acceptable level of healthcare service delivery.

    He appealed to well-meaning private citizens and corporate organizations such as the multi-national oil companies to come to the aid of the hospital through their corporate social responsibility to improve the infrastructure and services in the hospital.

    He noted that the most concern of the hospital is the problem of mosquito infestation, stressing that the management is doing its best to control the scourge but lack the financial capacity to end afflict.

    Prof. Ojule said: “We by this press briefing inform the general public that the issue in contention have been amicably resolved and normal healthcare delivery service would resume in this hospital from 8: am October 21, 2016. And we came out of these crises stronger than we were.

    “Thing has been amplified by the current economic recession with associated inflation and fluctuation in the foreign exchange market. These factors have largely increased the cost of inputs in the delivery of healthcare services.

    “In consideration of this challenging operating environment, management wishes to inform the general public of a possible marginal increase in the cost of service in the very near future in order to sustain good quality healthcare services.”