The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Doctors

  • NMA spur for war with other allied health workers

    NMA spur for war with other allied health workers

    The supremacy battle between the medical practitioners and other health workers seems to be degenerating.

    Doctors and dentists have vowed to reject any laboratory results not reviewed and interpreted by pathologists.

    Pathology and medical laboratory science professions are related but the job descriptions, training and responsibilities differ.

    The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) in statement signed by its president and Secretary, Dr. Kayode Obembe and Dr. Adewunmi Alayaki respectively NMA will not tolerate any encroachment in any medical or dental arena as no doctor or dentist will submit his/her practice to any other health professional regulatory body other than the MDCN and the relevant state ministries of health.

    They therefore stated, “Doctors and dentists are hereby cautioned against using pathology services laboratory results not reviewed, interpreted and reported by pathologists thus guaranteeing reliability, safety and assuming responsibility for outcome of use.

    “Laboratories that do not have permanent or visiting pathologists are to be avoided as much as possible in the interest of patients and the public as quality and safety can hardly be guaranteed. The same applies to Radiology where there are no Radiologists.”

    NMA explained that “It’s only the pathologists that have the training and mandate to situate and connect the biological samples and the patient.”

    The doctors also suggested that “this is the time for the National Assembly to hold joint probes into what has shattered the peace of the public health sector.”

    NMA in its statement also called for reconstitution of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria “so that appropriate regulatory activities can be effectively executed in line with the legal provisions, and malpractices and other breaches of its Codes of Ethics sanctioned accordingly.”

  • Southwest doctors to begin solidarity strike

    Doctors in the South West have threatened to go on strike, if the Osun State government fails to address the plight of their colleagues within two weeks.

    The Chairman of the South West caucus of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Dr Adenike Odewabi, said this at a briefing in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.

    According to Odewabi, doctors in the zone will carry out “systematic solidarity action” and public protests in the zone’s six states in solidarity with their colleagues.

    She said doctors in the Osun State public service have not been paid for six months.

    “We, the entire South West Caucus of the NMA, have observed the recalcitrant posture of the Osun State government.

    “We will not hesitate to invoke all that is necessary within the ambit of the law to defend our colleagues in the state in challenging the affront on our noble profession and innocent citizens of the state.”

    Odewabi claimed that Osun doctors are not being paid the “correct” salary and made to pay higher taxes than their colleagues.

    “I wish to bring to your notice that doctors in Osun have not been paid since October 2015.

    “This is an act that is not only viciously wicked but “capitally” condemned,” she said.

    The NMA urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) and Department of State Services (DSS) to investigate the situation.

    The association appealed to other governors in the zone to prevail on Governor Rauf Aregbesola to give doctors their dues.

  • Striking doctors’ demand impossible, says Osun govt

    Striking doctors’ demand impossible, says Osun govt

    •Govt action laughable— Doctors’ spokesman

    Osun State government yesterday described the demand of striking doctors in the state as impossible in the face of the present economic reality of the country.

    Chairman of Osun Special Committee on Health, Dr. Simeon Afolayan, during a press conference in Oshogbo stated that in the face of the current economic realities, it remains unbelievable that doctors would insist that they would not be bound by the modulated payment regime agreed to by over 39,000 other workers of the state.

    Afolayan, a former Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health and the Hospital Management Board, held that the decision of the state to live within its means in the light of the shortfall in revenue to the state was taken by all stakeholders including all the representatives of labour unions and government.

    He added that the doctors were dully represented on the committee that sits on all the revenues coming to the state and decides what goes into payment of salary and the running cost of government.

    “There is no way we could back down on this because, in the first instance, other professionals had accepted the agreement reached with labour.

    “Doctors were eager to join the general strike called by NLC even though they claim they are not affiliated to NLC but they refused to resume work when the strike was called off. When it is convenient for doctors, they hearken to the voice of labour unions only to claim decisions taken by the same union is not bidding on them.”

    He added: “The doctors have remained recalcitrant despite all entreaties by leading lights of medical profession.

    “They refused the popular agreement, what should government do? How can we reverse a decision accented to and agreed with by over 39,000 workers because about 100 people are dissatisfied.”

    He said because of the seeming emergency situation the abandonment of work has created by the doctors, the state would not fold its arms and watch the health sector suffer any hitch as a result of the abandonment.

    He said the government is deploying doctors from the Ministry of Health, Bowen University, the police, army and others to mitigate what could have been the effect of the works abandonment.

    Afolayan called on well-meaning Nigerians to look at the issues involved in the demands of the doctors and see whether they are in tune with the realities of the current worsening global and national economic situation and how it affects Osun.

    He pointed out that doctors have embarked on different actions bordering on abandonment of their duty post for about 11 months out of which government had even paid them for six month without working.

    He added that by civil service regulation, workers who absent themselves from work beyond certain limit are deemed to have resigned their appointments, adding that the rule has taken effect and those doctors, who still want to render services, have been given fresh opportunity to do so by government.

    He added: “The government cannot be seen to be promoting and encouraging lawlessness by a group or individuals. This is a recipe for anarchy.

    “That the doctors have abandoned their duty post for about 11 months and the state’s healthcare delivery system is still functioning calls to question their relevance.

    “The government commends the civil servants and other workers in the state for their loyalty, sacrifice understanding and commitment to the service of the people of the state in this special time and deplores the selfishness and blackmail antics of the doctors.

    “In the face of the current economic realities, it remains unbelievable that doctors would insist that they would not be bound by the payment regime agreed to by over 39,000 other workers in the state which was arrived at after a rigorous deliberation on the finances of the state within the context of the national economic realities.

  • Doctors selfish, says Aregbesola

    Doctors selfish, says Aregbesola

    Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola yesterday described the action of striking doctors in the state as selfish in the face of the present economic hardship in the country.

    The governor spoke at a lecture titled: “To the improved health of the people” at the launch of new equipment for Boripe Local Government Health Centres at Boripe Local Government Secretariat in Iragbiji.

    Aregbesola admonished the striking doctors to recognise that the state is in a very special time of serious economic challenge and they should be willing to sacrifice like other workers who are at their duty posts.

    He held that government despite the great financial challenges has given the welfare of the people priority, saying it is high time that all realised that the state is in a special period where sacrifice must be made.

  • CMD: LUTH is not owing doctors

    Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) has repudiated the claim its resident doctors are being owed two months’ salary.

    According to its Chief Medical Director (CMD), Prof. Chris Bode, the doctors were paid on Thursday, the day before the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) briefed the press.

    Bode said it was an error for LUTH’s ARD President  to have told Nigerians a “blatant lie.”

    He said: “For the ARD President to stand in front of the press last week Friday, February 5th,  and told Nigerians that his Association was owed two months’ salaries was a blatant lie as his association members had received their salaries from the Federal Government on the night of Thursday 4th February. We should praise this government for its gallant efforts in these trying times.”

    Bode said: ”We doctors are not the only Nigerians owed salaries in the current dispensation and we should be patient while the new government tries to sort out the financial problems confronting the nation. Our fellow Nigerians are owed several months in some states and this present situation will be swiftly resolved as soon as the payment platforms are funded, an issue we continue to take up with the appropriate government agencies. It is, therefore, advised that we should be patient for a little longer.”

    He said the delay in the payment of salaries was because of shortfalls in personnel emoluments.

    “Appeals have been made to the authorities to stop the recurring shortfalls in personnel emoluments to our institutions, and efforts are being made to convince the government to return doctors to the IPPIS payment platform which we fought hard to be removed from only two years ago. If we had been patient over the initial hiccups on the then newly-introduced IPPIS system, we might not be in the situation we now find ourselves. It is advised that the NMA leadership should make haste and exhibit purposeful leadership and maturity over our trainee doctors.”

    Bode also spoke on skipping allowance. He said the payment of “Skipping” is a national issue which the ARD and NMA should take up at various levels.

    “With over 600 resident doctors, LUTH is not in a position to pay over N50 million a month until the government provides the cash to back up the directive to pay through necessary appropriations. We all recall the futile outcome of the intense pressures applied to the wrong targets by the last ARD executives. This present exco was advised to change tactics and employ available lobbying options on this matter in this democratic dispensation.

  • Doctors promise to suspend strike

    Doctors promise to suspend strike

    The leadership of the Medical and Dental Practitioners Union in Osun State has given an assurance that it will convince its members to suspend their ongoing industrial action. The assurance came after mediation by the State House of Assembly led by the Speaker, Rt. Hon Najeem Salaam, at a meeting  with the leadership of the State Association of Medical Dental Officers (OSAMDO), at the Assembly complex in Osogbo on Thursday.

    In a press release issued by the Chairman, House Committee on Information and Strategy, Hon. Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, the Speaker appealed to the striking Doctors to suspend the action, saying the masses were at the receiving end of the crisis.

    “You are major stakeholders in the health sector, and whenever you decide to lay down your tools, the masses suffer, people die. We are appealing that you go back to your duty posts while we continue our dialogue to ensure that your demands are met. The economic realities in the country, and particularly in a state like ours require that we all make sacrifices, and in making those sacrifices, the Osun Assembly will stand by you to see that justice is done,” he said.

    Salaam assured the striking doctors that after calling off the strike, the Assembly would ensure that none of them is victimised for their roles in the industrial action. Responding, the OSAMDO Chairman, Dr. Isiaka Adekunle, said the appeal of the house would be taken to the congress to convince them to suspend the action. He regretted that the lack of understanding between the government and the union made the issue to degenerate.

    “We will take your appeal to the house and we believe that we will be able to convince our members to suspend the strike action. The people of Osun should be expecting good news anytime from now due to the assurance we have received from the state Assembly”, he said.Adekunle commended the Assembly for its intervention, assuring that the legislature would be given feedback on the resolution of the union’s congress.

     

  • Money is not everything, provost tells doctors

    Forty-Four resident doctors have qualified as consultants at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi Araba.

    LUTH Chief Medical Director (CMD) Prof Chris Bode, represented by the Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC), Prof Olufemi Fasanmade, at an event to honour the  consultants, said when people sit for an exam and pass, it is a wonderful thing and a good feeling.

    Fasanmade said: “Twenty of the resident doctors are from LUTH. We have 24 doctors from other institutions. We have together 44 doctors who qualified as fellows and they are now consultants.”

    The event was to recognise the resident doctors’ workers. Fasanmade added: “Last year, the management decided to make it a culture to honour the efforts of outgoing resident doctors two times a year.”

    LUTH, he said, had left a mark on the fellows, urging them to portray the learning the institution has instilled in them wherever they go.

    On employment, Fasanmade said many find it difficult to secure a job in private hospitals, noting that budding hospitals cannot employ too many.

    “Many doctors are not employed but it is not because their services are not required but it could be that the government of that state is not financially stable to retain or employ. The private hospitals are also not able to retain all because of the cost to remunerate such doctors.

    “Unfortunately, LUTH too, can only offer employment to a small percentage of the fellows. Employment opportunities may be open in departments where there are shortages or people in the retirement age bracket, he said.”

    Provost, College of Medicine, University of Lagos (CMUL), Prof Folasade Ogunsola, said the profession was facing challenges.

    Mrs Ogunsola said: “We are there to help and not necessarily about the money. Along the way, we miss the road and it becomes a job. The reward of doctors has to be more than money. It has to be with the feeling of securing a life and doing well.”

    She said the profession might have lost its glory because many doctors place money as a top priority over the patients, adding: “The field of medicine is in jeopardy.”

    The judgment, she said, is what the patients say about the doctors, stressing: “The lack of beds should not translate immediately to the lack of care. In the absence of beds, you should do something to help before you let the patient go.”

    She urged the fellows to always work as a team because teamwork gets the best result.

    Former President, Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), Olubunmi Omojowolo is one of the fellows. He said he would associate with the residents.

    He pleaded with the National Medical Postgraduate College to help the resident doctors process their proposal on time because it is one of the things that delay.

    Omojowolo added: “I think maximum of three months should be fixed to access the proposal. Some people do not get their proposal back until nine months which is not good.”

    He urged the management to communicate their actions on time so that medics could be informed and there would not be conflict.

  • How doctors can avoid litigation, by surgeon

    How doctors can avoid litigation, by surgeon

    A senior lecturer at the College of Medical Sciences of the University of Benin (UNIBEN), Prof Clement Osime, has advised surgeons to be professional in doing their jobs. If doctors abide by professional ethics, he said, they would be protected from committing medical errors that could lead to litigation.

    Osime, a professor of Surgical Oncology, was delivering the 164th inaugural lecture of the institution last Thursday. Titled: Medicine, law and ethics: Is there a meeting point and the role of the surgeon, the event held at the Akin Deko Auditorium.

    Osime said the era of “doctor knows it all” had gone, explaining that patients were becoming aware of their rights in seeking healthcare. He said the rising cases of medical negligence by surgeons were disturbing, noting that several medical practitioners had been charged to court for professional errors.

    The surgeon said: “Many doctors have made fatal errors in diagnosing duodenal cancer, which is presented as acute appendicitis. Most patients are taken to the theatre and operated for appendicitis. Months later, the symptoms reappear. While some lucky patients survive, others die before coming back for surgery. This shows there is need for surgeons to understand the principle of good diagnosis before surgeries are done.”

    Osime also blamed patients for tardiness in seeking medical attention, saying many prefer to approach miracle centres to seek cure for ailments that required medical expertise. The lecturer called for strict sanctions against pastors who deceive patients in need of medical attention.

    He added: “We recently diagnosed a lady of breast cancer. She was afraid of losing her breast and rejected the result. She approached her pastor to seek spiritual healing and the pastor told her she should not go for medical examination again. Months later, she walked the hospital and by that time, the cancerous cells had spread to the other breast. There was nothing we could do.”

    Noting that breast cancer was not a death sentence, Osime advised women to always examine their breast and go for early treatment to survive the disease. He called for more awareness on breast cancer, immediate passage of National Health Insurance Bill, alternative dispute resolution mechanism and efficiency of professional guideline for medical practitioners.

    Earlier in his address, the Vice-Chancellor (VC), Prof Faraday Orumwense, who chaired the ceremony, hailed Osime for “scholarly exercise”. He said the lecture was timely, considering the rising litigations against doctors.

    The VC added: “We would submit the recommendations of this lecture to the appropriate quarters and I encourage members of the audience to take the message far and wide. We should spread the message like harmattan fire.”

  • The gift of life

    November 2, last year, I was preparing to go home from the office at about 7.30pm when I started feeling feverish. Within minutes I was shaking due to cold and only managed to drive home.

    Though I didn’t use any drug overnight, I felt a bit better in the morning but stayed back home to get some treatment. It was not until Wednesday morning that I went to the hospital.

    I was diagnosed of fever and was given drugs to use. By the weekend, it seemed I was getting over what initially appeared to be a simple illness but I had to return to the hospital for further checks when the pains in my heels did not subside.

    I was admitted for some tests to be sure of what the real ailment was and by the time the results were out after two days, the Medical Director immediately referred me for an urgent treatment at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).

    As I found out later, one of the results was so bad that the doctor couldn’t risk retaining me in his hospital. In case I didn’t have enough money on me, the director gave me N50,000 required for emergency admission in the Private Partnership Ward in LUTH if there was no bed space in the regular ward.

    As the director envisaged, there was no space for regular admission. I was given the option of staying in the car that brought me until a space could be found, or take the expensive emergency option.

    Thank God for the director, I had enough to pay for the N50,000 for 24hours stay in the emergency ward and was moved to the regular ward the next day.

    I ended up being on admission in LUTH for two weeks during which I underwent numerous tests and treatment. That I came out of LUTH is indeed the grace of God. Three patients died in the ward I stayed before I was discharged, while another, whose condition had improved and was waiting to be discharged, died a week after.

    The two weeks I was on admission in LUTH exposed me to the true state of our health system.

    At LUTH, which is supposed to be one of the best health institutions in the country, I witnessed the decay and inadequacy of facilities. Doctors, nurses and other medical personnel were obviously overwhelmed by the number of patients they had to attend to. I remember the night two nurses in my ward slept off and it took more than ten minutes of loud banging of the door to wake them.

    The competence of some personnel is questionable as their prescriptions were openly overruled by superior officers. Who knows how many patients have died due to wrong diagnosis and treatment.

    Cost of drugs and tests required to keep many patients alive are prohibitive and some died because they could not afford to pay.

    Given the various limitations, it was obvious that it takes the grace of God for any patient to come out alive from LUTH and other health institutions in the country.

    Last Thursday, my clinic appointment to see the doctor at LUTH was extended for two weeks because there were too many others waiting to be attended to on the same day.

    Years of neglect, as President Muhammadu Buhari once noted in a coup speech, has turned our hospitals into consulting clinics. Hopefully, now that he is back in the saddle, he will do what is needed to improve on health delivery in the country.

    I thank God for the gift of life. Indeed, doctors and other personnel can try their best to care; only God can heal.

  • Rivers NMA furious as two doctors are abducted

    Rivers NMA furious as two doctors are abducted

    •Union: 21 members abducted last year in state

    Two doctors – Isaac Opurum (male) and Ibi Aprioku (female) – have been abducted at different locations in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

    The state chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), which broke the news yesterday, said 21 of its members were abducted last year.

    It threatened to withdraw the services of its members services, if the two doctors were not released within 48 hours.

    Rivers NMA Chairman Dr. Furo Green condemned incessant abduction of members of the association.

    He urged security agencies and the government to ensure tight security for doctors and other residents in the state.

    Dr. Opurum, who is the Director of Community House Services in the State Primary Health Management Board, was abducted yesterday at 3 a.m from his home.

    Dr. Aprioku, an employee of the state-owned Braithwaite Memorial Specialist Hospital in Port Harcourt, was abducted on Sunday when she was leaving her church after service in company of her children.

    The gunmen, who reportedly laid siege to the church, were said to have seized Dr. Aprioku.

    The abductors, witnesses said abandoned Dr. Aprioku’s children in her while they took her to an unknown place.

    Dr Green decried the abduction of NMA members, adding that doctors were afraid to go to their offices because of the development.