The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Chief Medical Director (CMD)

  • UITH to promote healthcare for elderly people

    UITH to promote healthcare for elderly people

    Prof. Abdulwaheed Olatinwo, Chief Medical Director (CMD), University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH), says the hospital’s Geriatric Clinic would focus majorly on sound healthcare for elderly people.

    Olatinwo said this at the inauguration of the clinic under the Family Medicine Department of the hospital on Tuesday in Ilorin.

    He assured that the clinic would strive to promote elder’s wellbeing by preventing and treating diseases and disabilities in adults.

    The CMD explained that the creation of the geriatric unit was in compliance with the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari.

    He said the presidential order mandated that all teaching hospitals in the country must make the care of the elders a top priority.

    Dr Sam Alabi, the Head of Department of Family Medicine, UITH, commended the management for establishing the clinic.

    He expressed optimism that the clinic would live up to the standards it had been established to achieve.

    Alabi informed the audience that people from 40 years upwards are entitled to this privilege.

    According to him, the clinic will run every Thursday after which it will commence full operations everyday once fully established.

    The Head of Nursing Department, Mrs. Elizabeth Aina, appealed to the elderly to endeavour to visit the clinic for their health needs.

    Aina said that it was a unique opportunity to have such a facility at the hospital.

    While expressing gratitude to the management for the initiative, she appealed to philanthropists to help the hospital to achieve the clinic’s goal. 

     

  • Why we embarked on strike – LUTH nurses

    Why we embarked on strike – LUTH nurses

    There seem to be no end soon for a truce between the striking nurses at Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) and the management of the institution.
    At a meeting on Wednesday called by the State chapter of the Nigerian Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) with the striking nurses, the State NANNM Chairman, Comrade Olurotimi Awojide said he has been reliably informed that the LUTH management may not be able to hold any meeting with the executives of Lagos NANNM because the Chief Medical Director (CMD) Prof Chris Bode and some of the hospital’s top management officials have travelled.
    Comrade Awojide said the hospital should watch it because some other members of the association are watching with keen interest what is unfolding at LUTH, hence the Psychiatry Hospital, Aro, Abeokuta has commenced on a strike for similar demands.
    He explained that LUTH management should understand the nifty gritty of Civil Service Commission, especially as it relates with engagement/employment and promotion.
    Comrade Awojide said it is an embarrassment for a  54 year old tertiary institution not to have regular supply of water and light. “These are very important to any hospital environment. And you know the importance of water in prevention of spread of infections, as witnessed during the Ebola outbreak. It is highly important for the safety of patient and staff, especially nurses. Nurses use their personal money to purchase consumables such as gloves, syringes o attend to patients, either because they are not enough or totally unavailable. That is how bad the whole system is, here at LUTH. Allowances for nurses are not paid, for instance, teaching allowance and uniform allowance. The annoying part is that professionals that are not captured or entitled when the circular was being presented are being paid, thereby robbing legitimate professionals like nurses from being paid, for example administrative officer collecting teaching allowance. We are not asking the management to stop that, but to give us our legitimate due.”
    On the issue of promotion of nurses without First degree, as maintained by the hospital, Comrade Awojide explained, “Nurses that are at Assistant Chief Nursing officer post awaiting promotion to the position of Chief Nursing officer are already on CONHESS 12, and LUTH management is still ‘promoting’ them to CONHESS 12, By saying CONHESS 13 is for Assistant Director. That is wrong. We gave the Management the necessary papers/document to support what is right and for simpler understanding, to no avail. Chief Nursing Officer is on CONHESS 13, the Directorate cadre starts from CONHESS 14 and above. So promotion starts from CONHESS 12 to 13 as Chief Nursing officer. That is what obtains among other federal health hospitals, so why should LUTH be any different? We brought copies of promotion letters from other hospitals to convince the LUTH management to no avail.
    “In the Scheme of Service for Civil service of the Federation, when nurses are employed, they start on Level 7 which is equivalent to CONHESS 6 with their single qualification. Followed by Nursing Sister Grade level 6, CONHESS 7, Senior Nursing Sister Grade level 9, CONHESS 8, Senior principal Nursing officer on Grade Level 10 CONHESS 9. There is nothing like Grade 11. Once on Grace 10, one moves to Level 12. We were at Industrial High Court on Skipping and CONHESS and we won. The Court wrote the Ministry of Health that the Skipping is legal, that it means automatic moving from 10 to 12. The equivalent of 11 under CONHESS is CONHESS 10. Meaning that nurses will move from CONHESS 9 to 11.”
    He added, “That will translate to Principal Nursing officer 1, Assistant Chief Nursing officer will now be on CONHESS 12, Chief Nursing officer will now be CONHESS 13, then Assistant Director, Deputy Director and the Director. That is the structure. So now, instead of promoting Assistant Chief Nursing Officer CONHESS 12 to Chief Nursing officer CONHESS 13, LUTH management is claiming that CONHESS 13 is for Assistant Director, not taking note of the skipping Grade level which is CONHESS 11. Head of Service has also written the hospital. In civil service, once an HND holder gets to Level 14, you stagnate. It is only Degree holders that can get to Level 15 upwards. Nurses are not asking to be promoted to level 14 without First Degree, we are saying CONHESS 13 is not for Assistant Director but for Chief Nursing Officer. It is when we want to go beyond Level 14, CONHESS 13 that First Degree is required. Our members should not be denied of their legitimate right. Our members that are interested in moving up beyond Level 14 are already pursuing First Degree. The LUTH Management should not ascribe to our regulatory body- The Nursing and Midwifery Council what it does not say, please.”
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  • Fake ‘doctor’ bags life jail for kidnapping

    Fake ‘doctor’ bags life jail for kidnapping

    A Kogi State High Court sitting in Lokoja has sentenced a fake medical doctor, Joseph Adeika to life imprisonment for kidnapping his former employer’s eight-year-old son, Favour Sunday, in Ajaokuta.

    Justice Yunusa Musa of the Kogi High Court 5, handed down the sentence on Wednesday.

    Adeika was last week Thursday (June 2.) convicted of kidnapping Master Favour Sunday from his parents’ residence in Ajaokuta.

    The judge held that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt that the convict masterminded and executed the kidnap of Master Favour Sunday and collected ransom before the victim was released.

    The prosecution had told the court that Adeika, who was an office clerk with Channels Diagnostic Laboratory, Ajaokuta was disengaged by Mr. Sunday Okorodudu, Favour’s father and owner of the establishment.

    The convict was said to have later established Omega Clinic, Itobe in Ofu local government of the state with himself as the Chief Medical Director (CMD), where he carried on as a qualified medical practitioner.

    The prosecution also told the court that on March 15, 2016 the convict while armed with a gun, arrived Okorodudu’s residence at Abuja Estate, Ajaokuta and kidnapped the boy at gun point.

    The prosecution, led by Mohammed Abaji, Senior Legal Officer with the state Ministry of Justice further told the court that investigation led to the arrest and prosecution of the convict.

    Pronouncing the sentence, Justice Musa said sentence was deferred from June 2, following the plea by three counsels in the case, for postponement of the sentence of the convict.

    He said that section 3(1) of the Kogi State Kidnapping, Thuggery and other Related Offences Prohibition Law (2010), provides for life imprisonment without option of fine upon conviction.

    He accordingly sentenced the accused to life imprisonment without option of fine.

     

  • ‘Incessant strikes in health sector very embarrassing’ – JUTH CMD

    Prof. Edmund Banwat, Chief Medical Director (CMD), Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), has flayed incessant strikes in the health sector, describing the situation as “very embarrassing”.

    “The incessant strikes in a key sector like health is disheartening and has become a source of embarrassment to us,” Banwat told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Jos on Monday.

    Banwat, who was reacting to the two-months-old strike of JUTH workers, said that government was taking stiff measures to check the trend.

    “The health workers have formed a habit of abandoning their duty posts at the slightest excuse; this raises questions as to our professional vow to save lives.

    “The incessant strikes make nonsense of such professional vows to place human lives over any other vain pursuit bordering on money,” he said.

    To check the strikes, he said that the Federal Government has issued a circular reminding heads of medical facilities of the No-work-no-pay policy.

    A copy of the circular, signed By Mr Danjuma Kurau, Director, Human Resources Management Department in the Federal Ministry of Health, directed all institutional heads to immediately implement the policy as contained in the Trade Disputes Act, Cap T8.

    “The total disregard to this law has contributed in no small measure to the incessant labour disputes ravaging the health sector leading to the loss of several months of service.

    “The health sector is one of the essential services prohibited by law from embarking on strikes, but government has been subjected to much ridicule and embarrassment owing to frequent strikes.”

    The circular quoted the minister as directing that salaries and allowances should not be paid to any staff “who chooses the path of strike”.

    On the strike by the JUTH workers since March 7, Banwat said that the action was “very unnecessary”.

    “We met with the JUTH chapter of the Joint Health Sector Union (JOEHSU) before the strike and have met several times after it began where all the local issues were resolved, but I keep wondering why they are still at home,’’ said the CMD.

    NAN recalls that JOHESU’s spokesman, Mr Mustafa Kabir, attributed the strike to issues bordering on promotion, lack of beds and basic consumables in the hospital, as well as the refusal to regulate the appointment of casual staff.

    Kabir also alleged that Banwat had been very insensitive to the plight of the workers, among other issues.

    But the CMD said that his administration had promoted staff stagnated for more than 14 years, pointing out that other issues of promotion were beyond JUTH and being handled by the national body of the union in Abuja.

    He dismissed claims that the hospital had shortage of beds and other consumables, and challenged anyone with doubt to visit the hospital stores.

    He also rejected insinuation that the mortuary was in bad shape, explaining that the one at the temporary site had been handed over to the Plateau Government, while the mortuary at the permanent site was in excellent condition.

    The CMD also accused JOHESU officials of subjecting members to “unncessary pain”, noting that the JOHESU headquarters had confirmed that issues within the capacity of JUTH had been effectively sorted out.

    On the casual staff, he said that he inherited 200 casual staff and was working with the Federal Character Commission toward regularising their employment.

  • FETHI CMD absolves self from Ekiti doctors death

    FETHI CMD absolves self from Ekiti doctors death

    The Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the Federal Teaching Hospital (FETH), Ido-Ekiti, Dr Lawrence Ayodele, has absolved himself of wrongdoing in the death of two doctors from the hospital who were among those that died in Kaduna last week.

    Ayodele told reporters in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital Monday, that those protesting against him are enemies of progress who believe they can thwart his reappointment for a second term because of his reform programme that has plugged many loopholes for corruption.

    He also called on security agencies to put a stop to what he described as an act of ‘terrorizing the hospital community’ by the protesters.

    Ayodele said those protesting against his administration were only using the death of the two doctors as a cover to achieve their aim of making the hospital ungovernable with the aim of preventing his reappointment for a second term.

    The CMD, who gave details of his involvement in the treatment of the doctors, also revealed that the three doctors from FETHI who were among the seven doctors involved in the accident did not take permission for the journey from the hospital’s management.

    Nonetheless, Ayodele said as soon as he was informed of the accident about 9:00 pm Sunday evening in Sokoto,  he contacted all hospital heads around the area that could offer help in treating them. His efforts, he recalled, led to the mobilization of personnel and materials that rescued survivors.

    In addition, Dr Ayodele said he made a presentation on the accident to the minister, Permanent Secretaries and other top government and professional officials the following day, after which he excused himself from the meeting and the conference to enable him return to Ekiti and attend to the situation.

    He said seven doctors from the Ekiti State Hospital Management Board, Ekiti State Teaching Hospital and FETHI agreed to undertake the journey using a bus belonging to the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Ekiti State branch for the Sokoto NMA conference.

    He said: “The seven doctors came together to take an NMA bus and driver. They did not involve our hospital. And the three of them from our hospital did not take permission for the conference.

    “So, it is surprising to hear all the way from Sokoto that a group of people under the aegis of Senior Staff Association gathered in front of our hospital accusing the CMD of their death. As the sitting Chief Executive, I have no problem with the staff under me.”

    Ayodele scribed the allegations being branded against him as untrue. On the allegation that 42 people died in his 42 months of leadership, the CMD said nothing can be farther from the truth because only five members of staff have died to his knowledge since the inception of his administration.

    According to him, a medical doctor died of neurological disease, a nurse died of AIDS, a man collapsed due to diabetic coma while a young man died for his alleged involvement in diabolical activities and another young man died in an accident in Owo while returning from a meeting.

    He pointed out: “These protesters are not protesting because of the accident. They are only using it as a cover.”

    Ayodele described the act of closing down the hospital and sending out patients from the wards as acts of terrorism.

    “They have beaten up a number of staff, vandalized Oba’s palace and stopping people from carrying out their duties. They are terrorizing the hospital staff. Security agencies must not allow these to continue because a few people cannot hijack a federal institution. These people should face the full weight of the law.

    “They are trying to make the hospital ungovernable so that government will not renew my appointment.”

    Staff of the hospital under three unions had closed the hospital while protesting the death of two doctors from the hospital who were in the team of seven doctors involved in the accident. They accused Ayodele of using juju to kill his colleagues.

    They also called on the government to remove him and appoint another CMD.