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Tag: Doctors

  • Health workers strike: JOHESU accuses doctors of sabotage

    The lingering nationwide strike embarked upon by health workers may suffered a set-back following resolve by doctors to render services and kick against the demands of the health workers.

    The National Chairman of JOHESU, Mr Biobebelemoye Josiah, has therefore alerted of efforts by the doctors to frustrate ongoing talks to end the four-week-old strike.

    Josiah raised the alarm when he fielded questions from newsmen in Abuja, and also accused the Ministry of Health of collaborating with the doctors in suppressing JOHESU’s legitimate demands from the government.

    JOHESU had on April 17 embarked on industrial action to press home its demands bordering on improved healthcare facilities and welfare.

    The strike by the union has so far crippled healthcare delivery in public health institutions across the country but the doctors render service.

    Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, had confirmed that negotiations were on with JOHESU to end the strike.

    “Negotiations are still on with JOHESU and the Minister of Labour is leading the negotiation, and we expect that we will conclude on all issues very soon.’’

    The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) had in a statement threatened to withdraw their services across health institutions in the country if the federal government acceded to the demands of JOHESU and other health workers.

    “The NMA wishes to draw the attention of the Federal Government to our correspondence of April 21, 2014, on the above, in which we reminded Government of the collective bargaining agreement we had with the Federal Government of Nigeria in January 2014.

    The doctors drew the attention of government to the concluding part of their letter no. NMA/PRE/SG/03/0751 of 21st March 2014.

    It states: “In view of the above, the NMA painfully wishes to inform the Federal Government of Nigeria that any award to the non-medically qualified health professionals that violates the January and July agreements of 2014 shall result in the resumption of the suspended withdrawal of service of 2014. Please take this as a notice.’’

    “The above reminder is predicated on the extension of the ongoing strike action embarked upon by the amorphous body called `JOHESU’.

    “The basis of the strike is callous and ill motivated for pay parity between her members and doctors with the resultant erosion of relativity and further hierarchical distortion in the health sector vis-à-vis her clandestine romance with some top government officials.

    “For the avoidance of doubt, the Nigerian Medical Association wishes to restate her positions on the various demands of JOHESU:

    “We oppose vehemently, any adjustment in CONHESS SALARY SCALE with resultant pay parity between doctors and healthcare professionals allied to medicine, and hereby reaffirm that relativity is sacrosanct,” the statement read in part.’’

    The president of JOHESU, however, alleged that the two ministers of health were not serious in ending the strike in view of their position in support of the demands of the doctors at the detriment of JOHESU.

    He said: “This very agreement was entered into and then a memo was made to Mr President as they claimed even though they gave us a copy later.

    “When they made this memo it was in December and the ministry of health defended her budget in February, but did not deem it to include that the amount it worked for the payment or settlement of this very issue.

    “This goes a long way to show that there was dishonesty, insincerity from the beginning on the part of the ministry (Federal Ministry of Health) because most probably the minister is a doctor; minister of state (Health) is a doctor and minister of labour who is supposed to be the chief negotiator, is also a medical doctor.’’ (NAN)

  • Doctors storm Kebbi for medical outreach

    To ensure a healthy society with the prevailing health workers’ strike, about 100 doctors have arrived Kebbi State for medical out reach.

    The state goverment has therefore, advised the public to avail themselves of the opportunity of the free medical outreach at Kebbi Medical Center  Kalgo. The free medical outreach is being provided by a team of doctors drawn from Moses Lake in United States and Pro-Health International based in Nigeria.

    The team comprised gynecologist, surgeons, family health experts, pediatricians dentists, anesthetists, nurses and pharmacies.

    Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, while speaking with newsmen at the hospital, advised people to afford themselves the opportunity provided by the outreach to seek treatment and  consultancy.

    Director, Medical Services, Ministry of Health, Dr. Aminu Bunza, who is also the Chairman clinical committee,   said: “We are expecting more patients this time around due to the JOHESU strikes across the country and increase in public awareness “

    The team comprised Kebbi State Medical workers, medical personnel and doctors from UDUTH Sokoto, University College Hospital (UCH) Ibadan and Pro health International. There are also student volunteers from Kebbi State School of Nursing and School of Health Technology and members of the Moses Lake Medical team from the United States. The team will be working together while building the capacity of medical workers in a teaching environment.

    Over 50,000 people have benefited from the three previous outreaches, especially with regards to surgeries across specialities. “This time we are targeting over 35000 thousand patients of different illnesses to be treated.  All expenses for all patients are free, including free feeding. The outreach is expected to last for three weeks,”he said.

    Meanwhile, Commissioner for Health, Alhaji Umar Kambaza has explained the reason why the Kebbi State embarked on the free medical out reach for the 4th time was to allow common man access specialised health care services, adding that not only Kebbi people benefitted, but other people from various states came to benefit from the outreach.

     

  • Fed Govt rejects JOHESU’s demand for pay parity with doctors

    THE Federal Government has rejected the request of Joint Health Sector Union’s (JOHESU) members to enjoy the same salary structure with the medical doctors.

    Besides, the government maintained that there was never any existing agreement with the union prior to the coming of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.

    Minister of Health Prof. Isaac Adewole, therefore, appealed to JOHESU to call off the strike and allow the High Level Body constituted by government to conclude its assignment as contained in the 2017 agreement.

    In a statement signed by Assistant Director of Information, Ministry of Health Mr. Olajide Oshundun, the minister assured the union that the administration would not renege on any agreement entered into with any labour organisation, including JOHESU.

    “What JOHESU is asking for is parity with medical doctors, which is not practicable nor acceptable to the Federal Government.

    “A cursory look at the salary tables in the health sector before and after independence till date have always reflected relativity.  The 2014 salary adjustment for medical doctors was to correct the anomaly of 2009 and restore relativity,” the minister stated.

    On the issue of existing agreement, the statement said: “The Minister of Health wishes to reiterate that there was no agreement between the Federal Government and JOHESU prior to the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

    “That what JOHESU brandish as 2014 agreement were minutes of meetings they had with the organs of Federal Government.

    “That in September 2017, JOHESU presented 15-point demands and the Federal Government has implemented 14 while the last demand is still being attended to by the High Level Body set up by the government to look into its implementation.

    “Indeed, what the September 2017 agreement stated under the upward adjustment of CONHESS salary scale and as published by JOHESU is that: ‘The meeting noted that two different figures had been submitted to the National Salaries and Wages Commission (NSIWC) on separate occasions. It was observed that the figures are no longer realistic due to lapse of time. The NSIWC should, therefore, do a fresh submission based on new data consistent with the present reality.

    “The FMOH is expected to make available necessary and required data to NSIWC to enable fresh computation. The newly computed figures will be forwarded by National Salaries and Wages Commission to the Federal Ministry of Health for onward transmission for processing to the high level body of the government and thereafter to Federal Ministry of Health within five weeks.’ This has been done.”

    The minister assured that the Buhari administration, as a responsible government, would do everything within its power to bring the ongoing strike action to an end as quickly as possible.

    He added that “the Federal Government has put machinery in place to ensure that the strike is called off by meeting with JOHESU officials on several occasions, the last being on Wednesday April 25, 2018, at the office of the Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment in Abuja”

    Adewole appealed to the public “to bear with the Federal Government as all hands are on the table to bring the ongoing strike to an end as quickly as possible”.

  • Strike: JOHESU is illegal, say doctors

    Doctors say they will not join a proposed strike by other workers in the health sector.

    The doctors through the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) also described the union of the other health workers, JOHESU, as illegal.

    JOHESU, which includes all health workers except doctors and dentists, announced on Monday it will commence an indefinite strike later tonight.

    At a press briefing on Tuesday, the NMA president, Mike Ogirima, warned the government against acceding to JOHESU’s demands.

    He said doctors will not join the strike and that the strike is targeted at medical doctors.

  • Why NMA, Edo Govt talks end in deadlock

    Ongoing talks between the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA)  and the Edo State Government are not yielding results because of the demands for 100 percent wage increment by the doctors.

    The 21 days ultimatum issued by the NMA to the Edo State to meet its demands will expire on Sunday and the NMA has threatened to embark on an indefinite strike action if the demands are not met.

    Among the demands of the NMA are revamping of the health sector, employment of more doctors, addressing decayed infrastructure in the state government owned hospitals and boosting of morale of doctors through payment of good salaries.

    Government sources however said the NMA was only interested in the increment of doctors’ salaries and not concerned about infrastructure in the hospital.

    The source said Governor Obaseki offered 25% pay rise with a promise to increase it in the next four years but the NMA insisted on 100 percent pay rise.

    According to the source, “The NMA is looking for a situation where a doctor will be earning over N1m monthly and not really concerned about the decayed infrastructure.

    “Governor Obaseki has opened up on his robust plans for the health sector  but the NMA wanted the pay rise. If Obaseki agreed to pay them high salary now, they will forget other things they are talking about.

    “This administration is sincere about revamping the health sector and not the approach of the NMA.”

    Reacting to the demand of the NMA, Governor Obaseki said they were unrealistic.

    Obaseki said arrangements were on for private health care providers to offer essential services to patients in state government hospitals during the period of the strike action

    His words, “We believe that the doctors’ demands are unrealistic, having been part of the steps taken so far to improve the conditions of service of medical doctors in the state. They see what we are doing and yet have threatened to go on strike because I cannot afford to fulfil 100 per cent of their demands.”

    “We agree with their demands but cannot afford all the demands now, rather we will spread them across four years of this administration, but the Edo NMA rejected the offer and insists on embarking on strike.

    “We are looking at various ways to execute our health reforms but will not allow anyone to blackmail us. We have been open, honest and have carried NMA along in all our activities till date. We will be talking to private health practitioners to help us and I have told them that I cannot afford all their requests at once. We are already making backup plans to take care of our people, if we are constrained to.”

    Read Also: NMA accuses Obaseki of insincerity

  • Obaseki to doctors: be patient

    Edo Governor Godwin Obaseki has told the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) that ‘hasty and  tokenistic efforts cannot  produce the high standard of health care he envisioned for Edo people.’

    Obaseki was reacting to the 21-day ultimatum issued by the NMA for him to fix the health sector or face indefinite strike.

    The governor, who spoke through his Special Adviser on Media and Communication Strategy, Mr. Crusoe Osagie, said he was adopting a holistic approach in reforming the health sector in the state.

    He said plans had been made and partners were being sourced, and in good time, the results would manifest.

  • Doctors implant lab-grown bone into man’s broken shin

    Doctors implant lab-grown bone into man’s broken shin

    A new piece of bone grown in a lab was successfully implanted into a man’s broken shin, Israeli doctors have announced, in what they said was the first operation of its kind.

    The 44-year-old patient, who had broken his shin bone in a bicycle accident, had initially undergone an operation to repair the damage by having a nail inserted into the bone, but the hole still remained, doctor Nimrod Rozen said at the Haemek hospital in northern Israel.

    The bone tissue was cultured using the patient’s own stem cells, taken from fat tissue, said Shai Meretzki, the head of Bonus Biogroup which carried out the process.

    Read Also: Anthony Joshua’s Nose ‘Not Broken’, says Doctor

    It took only two weeks to grow the new bone tissue, which was then inserted into the man’s shin.

    Meretzki said surgeons wrapped muscle fibres around the new bone tissue segment to help stabilise it.

    He said within two months it had developed into normal bone and bonded to the surrounding shin bone.

  • 300 doctors left Nigeria in 2016-NMA President

    300 doctors left Nigeria in 2016-NMA President

    Three hundred Nigerian doctors left the country in 2016,  the National President, Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Prof. Mike Ogirima has revealed.

    He said more doctors have joined the migration train this year. He did not give any statistics, although NAN learnt that 500 doctors sat for qualifying foreign medical exams to move out.

    Ogirima made this revelation at the association’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held on Thursday in Lagos.

    The meeting had as its theme, “Exodus of Healthcare Professionals, Time to Act is Now. ”

    According to some reports an estimated 35,000 Nigerian doctors are practising abroad, out of the   72,000 registered with the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria. The United Kingdom and the United States are the top destinations of the migrant doctors.

    In August, an  official of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), Dr. Abimbola Olajide, revealed that  no fewer than 2,500 doctors  would  leave the country this year.

    “Nigeria is using her resources to train doctors and professionals at the advantage of foreign countries.What are those things attracting these professionals outside?  Can we duplicate those things here?, ” Ogirima asked.

    The NMA President said that the responsibility to check the migration  lies with the government, the people and professionals to provide good working environment.

    Ogirima said, “The government should provide adequate remuneration.We are not saying we should pay so much, but pay them for the job they are doing as at when due.

    “We, on our part as professionals should look inward to change our attitude to patients. We should make patients as the Centre focus of why we are called doctors. ”

    He said that the National Health Act of 2014 has not been  fully implemented despite warnings of legal action and its implications from the NMA.

    According to him, the act holds the key to revolutionising the health industry.

    “It will encourage provision of additional fund to the system and ensure care of the vulnerable in the society.

    “The present provision of only three to four per cent of our annual budget to health sector is not helping the development of our system.

    “Some African countries who have voted up to 15 per cent  or more to their health systems are witnessing gradual improvement in their health sector.

    “Nigerians are now patronising health facilities in our neighbouring countries, ” he said.

    Also, the Commissioner for Housing, Lagos State, Prince  Gbolahan Lawal, urged NMA to create sustainable policies that would make major economic impact on Nigerians.

    Lawal said, “If we consider informal housing, that is, houses that do not have the approval of government and located in slum areas, and the consequences, it has a lot to do with health.

    “The government already has building code that does not allow for houses not good for human habitat, “ he said.

  • 300 doctors left Nigeria in 2016- NMA President

    300 doctors left Nigeria in 2016- NMA President

    Three hundred Nigerian doctors left the country in 2016, the National President, Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Prof. Mike Ogirima has revealed.

    He said more doctors have joined the migration train this year. He did not give any statistics, although NAN learnt that 500 doctors sat for qualifying foreign medical exams to move out.

    Ogirima made this revelation at the association’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held on Thursday in Lagos.

    The meeting had as its theme, “Exodus of Healthcare Professionals, Time to Act is Now. ”

    According to some reports an estimated 35,000 Nigerian doctors are practising abroad, out of the 72,000 registered with the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria. The United Kingdom and the United States are the top destinations of the migrant doctors.

    In August, an official of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), Dr. Abimbola Olajide, revealed that no fewer than 2,500 doctors would leave the country this year.

    “Nigeria is using her resources to train doctors and professionals at the advantage of foreign countries.What are those things attracting these professionals outside? Can we duplicate those things here?, ” Ogirima asked.

    The NMA President said that the responsibility to check the migration lies with the government, the people and professionals to provide good working environment.

    Ogirima said, “The government should provide adequate remuneration.We are not saying we should pay so much, but pay them for the job they are doing as at when due.

    “We, on our part as professionals should look inward to change our attitude to patients. We should make patients as the Centre focus of why we are called doctors. ”

    He said that the National Health Act of 2014 has not been fully implemented despite warnings of legal action and its implications from the NMA.

    According to him, the act holds the key to revolutionising the health industry.

    “It will encourage provision of additional fund to the system and ensure care of the vulnerable in the society.

    “The present provision of only three to four per cent of our annual budget to health sector is not helping the development of our system.

    Read Also: Bailout coming for states owing doctors’ salaries, says Dogara

     “Some African countries who have voted up to 15 per cent or more to their health systems are witnessing gradual improvement in their health sector.

    “Nigerians are now patronising health facilities in our neighbouring countries, ” he said.

    Also, the Commissioner for Housing, Lagos State, Prince Gbolahan Lawal, urged NMA to create sustainable policies that would make major economic impact on Nigerians.

    Lawal said, “If we consider informal housing, that is, houses that do not have the approval of government and located in slum areas, and the consequences, it has a lot to do with health.

    “The government already has building code that does not allow for houses not good for human habitat, “ he said.

  • Manslaughter: Doctors defend UK-based paediatrician convicted for boy’s death

    Hundreds of doctors in the United Kingdom (UK) have opposed a bid to strike off a paediatrician, Dr. Hadiza Bawa-Garba, who was convicted of manslaughter of a six-year-old boy.

    Bawa-Garba (38) of Leicester was accused of medical failings in the death of Jack Adcock.

    The boy was admitted to Leicester Royal Infirmary in the morning of February 18, 2011 with severe vomiting, diarrhoea and breathing difficulties.

    During the trial, the jury heard how Bawa-Garba, an experienced paediatrician, had mistaken Jack for another patient she had treated that day marked “do not resuscitate” (DNR).

    She was also said to have missed the signs of sepsis, a potentially life-threatening complication of an infection.

    Sepsis is said to occur when chemicals released into the bloodstream to fight the infection trigger inflammatory responses throughout the body. This inflammation can trigger a cascade of changes that can damage multiple organ systems, causing them to fail.

    Bawa-Garba was said to have stopped life-saving treatment on Adcock, but treatment was said to have been restarted when a junior doctor pointed out her mistake.

    When a crash team tried to resuscitate the boy, Bawa-Garba told them to stop without looking at his notes, mistaking him for another patient.

    Although it was reported that this did not contribute to Jack’s death, the judge in Dr. Bawa-Garba’s trial said the “extraordinary” error illustrated how bad her care was. She was given a two-year suspended sentence in 2015.

    She was found guilty by a 10-2 majority verdict after the jury deliberated for nearly 25 hours.

    Sister Theresa Taylor (55) of Leicester was found not guilty of the same charge.

    The boy’s parents Nicola and Victor Adcock rejoiced as Bawa-Garba was found guilty, as reported by the Daily Mail.

    Adcock’s mother, Nicola, said: “Our son Jack was a lively and energetic little boy. The room lit up when he walked in with his cheeky smile and his cheeky ways. He drew people to him like a magnet.

    “Our life now is empty, painful and will never be the same again. To say that we miss him does not do justice to our strength of feeling – Jack was an amazing son and one in a million.

    “We have always believed that someone needed to be held accountable for what happened to our son. The guilty verdicts will bring us some closure but the void that has been left in our lives will remain.”

    However, over 700 doctors have come out in Bawa-Garba’s defence, protesting against attempts to strike her off, according to The Times.

    In a letter to the newspaper, the doctors claim the bid by the General Medical Council (GMC) to stop Bawa-Garba from practicing ignores the part short-staffing played in her mistakes.

    They claim it “promotes a climate of defensiveness”, adding that doctors will be scared to admit to errors and patients will not be safer.

    Earlier this year, an independent Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service panel decided Bawa-Garba should not be struck off, citing “the context of wider failures”, such as a lack of other doctors and nurses and delayed test results.

    Instead, she was suspended for at least a year, with the panel saying her mistakes were not “irremediable”.

    The GMC is appealing, saying that public trust in the profession will be harmed if a doctor can continue after a manslaughter conviction. The High Court will hear the case on Thursday.

    However, leading doctors, including Professor Sir Iain Chalmers, a pioneer of evidence-based medicine, and Kim Holt, who blew the whistle over the care of Baby P, tell The Times: “We know of no evidence that terminating Dr. Bawa-Garba’s medical career will make any patient safer. On the contrary, it promotes a climate of defensiveness”.

    David Nicholl, the consultant who organised the letter, said the case had put patient safety back 20 years and warned of a “chilling effect” that would make doctors hide mistakes rather than learn from them.