The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Health workers

  • Health workers suspend warning strike in Kaduna

    Health workers suspend warning strike in Kaduna

     Health workers in Kaduna State have suspended the five-day warning strike they began on Monday.

    The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that the workers embarked on the strike to press home demands for the improvement of their welfare package.

    This is contained in a  communique signed by the State Secretary, National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), Nassa Yashi, issued on Wednesday in Kaduna.

    He said, ”The health workers engaged in a frantic and meaningful discussion with the government, which resulted into the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

    ”The suspension is to also give room for more negotiations and await the government to fulfill her own side of the MOU.

    Read Also: JUST IN: NUJ condemns abduction of Nation’s correspondent, wife, children in Kaduna

    “The strike is hereby suspended and the workers are expected to resume their normal duties immediately.

    ” The state administrative council (SAC) sincerely appreciate your massive support and resoluteness in making this struggle for the betterment of our welfare a huge success.”

    Yashi assured of their readiness to represent their members, adding, ”and to do that very well without fear or favor.

    ” Do not forget, it is suspension, meaning if the promises made are not fulfilled, we shall resume the industrial action at the appropriate time.”

    (NAN)

  • FG issues Executive Order on health workers leaving Nigeria

    FG issues Executive Order on health workers leaving Nigeria

    The Federal Government has directed health workers seeking jobs abroad to resign their appointments before leaving the country.

    Minister of State for Health, Tunji Alausa, made the announcement yesterday during his visit to the Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Aro, Abeokuta, Ogun State.

    The minister stated that the era of health workers exiting the country after applying for a leave of absence is no longer acceptable.

    He said: “You cannot eat your cake and have it. If you are going, just resign your appointment with the Federal Government rather than applying for leave of absence. That is the presidential executive order that has been communicated to all the Chief Medical Directors of Federal Government-owned health facilities to implement.

    “The problem with the leave of absence is that such a fellow is out there in the UK or Australia working, making money but his name still appears on the payment roll of the government and so to replace him is difficult because he is still being considered as a staff whereas he has left the country.

    Read Also: Japa syndrome: Tinubu moves against fleeing health workers 

    “So, to solve this problem, the President has directed that health workers going abroad to work should just resign their appointments and not apply for leave of absence. This way, you won’t be blocking others who want to work and of course piling burdens for your colleagues that you left behind.”

    The minister also noted that the Federal Government had commenced the production of manpower in the health sector such that the annual enrolment of nurses which used to be 28,000 is now 68,000 and that by the end of this year, it would have gone up to 120,000.

    “The government is not unmindful of the ‘Japa’ effect on our manpower in the health sector and the President has ordered for massive production of manpower such that when people go, there will always be replacement.

    “It is against this background that we are working intensely on the enrolment of our nurses. What used to be 28,000 is now 68,000, and our intention is to take it to 120,000 by the end of the year, so there will always be abundant skilled manpower to take over from those leaving the job,” he added.

  • Lagos trains 825 health workers on attitude change

    TO improve patients’ experience and enhance healthcare service delivery in  public hospitals in the state, the Lagos State Government has started training for no fewer than 825 health workers.

    The training is centered on work etiquette as well as professional core values.

    The Permanent Secretary in the  Ministry of Health, Dr. Titilayo Goncalves, made this known  while addressing participants at one of the sessions of the capacity training at Ikeja.

    She noted that the health workers consist of core health workers and other professionals in the health sector within the senior management cadre drawn from primary, secondary and tertiary health facilities as well as departments of the state ministry of health, health service commission and primary health care board.

    Although nurses form the bulk of the participants, other core health workers like doctors, pharmacists, laboratory technicians and professionals working in the health sector like engineers, accountants, administrative and human resource officers as well as public affairs officers are also being trained.

    While explaining the rationale for the training, Goncalves said the state government has been inundated with complaints and reports from patients and the general public on poor attitude of its health workforce prompting the need for orientation and re-orientation.

    “The complaints and reports have become worrisome and it is inimical to our goal of providing quality affordable and efficient health services to the populace. Hence the initiation of these trainings whose overall goal is to assist health workers and other related professionals in health service delivery system to improve their attitude for greater effectiveness at work,” Goncalves said.

    She noted that 66 participants, would be trained  on values, empathy, client or customer satisfaction, positive mindset, attitude, courtesies, time management, and professionalism.

    Noting that the participants were expected to get the training to other cadres of staff in their facilities and offices, Goncalves tasked health workers in the state health sector on the need to embrace the core values and ethics of their profession in the care of patients.

    She implored health workers especially nurses and doctors to continue to exude professionalism, discipline, integrity, humility, selflessness and great care built on patient-centered care in the discharge of their duties, adding that patient-centered care is an essential tool for improving the quality of healthcare service in the state.

    “Patient-centered care involves providing care that is respectful and responsive to individual patient preferences, needs and values, and ensuring that patient values guide all clinical decisions,” Goncalves said.

  • Achebe flays Anambra health workers’ abscondment to duty

    The Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Achebe has expressed displeasure over alleged abscondment to duty by health workers in some health centres in Anambra state.

    Achebe, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues when health workers paid them courtesy visit in Awka, said the rate at which health workers abandon their duty posts was regrettable.

    He said, “Whenever I stopped to ascertain how the health workers were faring in some of the centres, I often met nobody at their duty posts.”

    While commending them for the visit, Achebe who doubles as Chairman, Anambra State Traditional Rulers Council, urged the workers to always do the needful for the good of the people.

    He also enjoined them to intimate the council on their activities at various health centres for improved healthcare delivery.

    Acting Chairman, Anambra State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (ASPHDA), Dr Emmanuel Okafor, said the agency would soon commence checks on all the health centres.

    READ ALSO: 1,700 indigent students get Achebe’s scholarship

    He warned that anybody found wanting at their duty posts would be sanctioned.

    He said, “The state health workers have no reason to absent themselves from work going by government’s commitment toward them.”

    Okafor who said the visit was to intimate the monarchs on the activities of the health centers, described as cordial the relationship between the state government and health workers.

    Appreciating government for salary increase and promise of payment of the new minimum wage, ASPHDA boss appealed for employment of more health workers to replace the retiring ones.

  • Health workers to Buhari: Don’t appoint only doctors as Ministers of Health

    The Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN) has warned President Muhammadu Buhari on the need to avoid past mistakes in his appointment of ministers, especially as it concerns the ministry of Health.

    MHWUN urged the president not to appoint only Medical Doctors as Ministers of Health.

    In the current dispensation, the two ministers of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole and Dr. Osagie Ehinare are both medical doctors and not until recently, the permanent secretary of the ministry was also a medical doctor.

    Nigerians are looking forward towards appointment of new ministers as the president sets to commence his second term in office on 29th May 2019.

    The first term of the Buhari administration is expected to wind down on 29th May, 2019 and he is expected to dissolve his cabinet latest 24 hours before the end of the current administration.

    The union argued that appointing two ministers from the same segment of the medical profession to head the ministry does not promote healthy working environment.

    MHWUN National President, Com. Biobelemoye Josiah said ordinary because of the existence of other professionals, appointment of ministers should be a mix.

    He noted that one can be a medical doctor while the other can be from any of the other professions within the medical sector.

    Besides, Josiah called for the return of the  management of health institutions to hospital administrators who have the capacity to manage the institutions.

    He spoke yesterday in Abuja at the 10th National Quadrennial delegates conference of the Union.

    Josiah noted that the last four years is the worst for health delivery in the country, saying many factors conspired to cast a very gloomy and dark cloud on the horizon in the Nigerian health care  delivery system.

    He therefore warned that as long as the appointment of ministers of health, and other key positions are held by only one of profession to the exclusion of other health professionals, there will continue to be disruptions in healthcare delivery.

    He said,”As long as the appointment of ministers of Health, Directors in the ministry of health and the Chief Executives of health institutions remain the birthright of one profession, to the exclusion of other health professionals in the team, turbulence and inefficiency shall continue to thrive as they are not trained for such duties, their discriminatory approach would continue to invite protestations from other members of the health team who are in the majority. As long as government does not make conscious efforts to break this monopoly by the medical doctors, a monopoly that is self-serving, Nigerians would continue to suffer for it.”

    He posited that “As an immediate action to put confidence into Nigerians, the appointment of Ministers in the ministry must not necessarily be to only health professionals in order to halt politics of exclusion that has taken tap roots in the ministry.

    Read also: Buhari launches Micro Pension Plan for informal sector

    “We believe the appointments of both doctors and other health professionals as ministers, or the mixing of appointments of both doctors and other health professionals as ministers in the Ministry of Health would go a long way in boosting the confidence of the operators/ stakeholders in the ministry .

    MHWUN president also opposed the school of thought that is pushing for privatization of the health care industry.

    While stressing that privatization is not an option, Josiah said that it is the business of the government to provide for security and welfare and well being of its citizenry.

    “If the business of government is to provide for security and the welfare and well being of its citizenry, then privatization of health industry as being saliently canvassed by the managers of the health systems in Nigeria. Would not provide the answer,” he said.

    On the management of the medical institutions in the country, Josiah said  ” In the long run, we advise the revitalization of the healthcare delivery by returning the management of health institutions to Hospital Administrators who have not only been trained for such functions but also possess the professional attitude to manage these institutions without fear or favour of any professional group.”

    This, he argued “would reduce incidence of friction in the system and would provide untainted and unbiased advise and information to government on the way forward in our healthcare delivery system.”

    In his remark, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President, Dr. Wabba Ayuba pointed out that democracy must work for the people and not for the selected few.

    He stressed that in Nigeria it is the poor that is subsidizing the rich which should be the other way round.

    This he said was as a result of deep gap between the rich and the poor.

    He said, “The inequality gap between the rich and the poor in our country is getting expanded. Whereas in other countries it is the rich that subsidize for the poor but in our case, it is the poor that subsidize for the rich.

    “In other climes, the increase of salary to all classes of workers in the society is done based on certain indices, either inflation, cost of living index. If you are increasing the salary of political office holders, you must also look at the same percentage for the salary of workers. We generate the wealth of our nation and must be partakers of the wealth we create. ”

    He therefore urged President Buhari to bring on board people who will work for him and add value to governance.

    “President Mohammed Buhari must be very selective in bringing the team that will work for him, not people that have nothing to add to the system. We have seen that in the past years, it has been difficult for him to change his cabinet and by now he must have realized the bad and the good ones among them,” he said.

    Speaking earlier, Comrade Abubakar Shanabo, Chairman MHWUN FCT noted that the national delegates’ conference provides another opportunity to re-elect their president  who he said has done very well in the last four years.

  • Health workers threaten indefinite strike

    •Union issues 15-day ultimatum

    HEALTH workers under the auspices of the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) have given indication that may soon shut down the nation’s hospitals, if the Federal Government fails to address their demands.

    The threat came yesterday about eight months after the workers suspended their strike to pave the way for a resolution of issues concerning their members, but no concrete agreement yet between the workers and the Federal Government.

    The government, last April, invoke the “No work no pay rule” policy to deny striking health workers their two months salaries for embarking on strike to press for the implementation of their agreement with the government.

    Minister of Health Isaac Adewole claimed there was no agreement between the union and government.

    However, the National Industrial Court, sitting in Abuja, stepped into the issue for arbitration, asking parties to maintain status quo ante.

    In a letter addressed to the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige yesterday, the union said it would resume the suspended strike, if the issues in dispute are not resolved by Thursday, January 31.

    JOHESU Chairman  Biobelemoye Joy Josiah said the decision to issue a 15-day ultimatum to the government was in view of the apparent indifference of its top officials to permanently resolve  lingering issues

    The health workers insisted that some of the issues have persisted for over five years and that even though the court has asked for a return to status quo ante during the last industrial action, but government has gone ahead to implement “No work, no pay rule”.

    Some of the issues at stake are the upward adjustment of the consolidated Health salary structure, CONHESS, unjustified withholding of the salaries of JOHESU members for the months of April and May, 2018 and headship of hospital departments.

    Others are non-promotion of members on CONHESS 14 – 15 as Directors in some Federal Health Institutions and implementation of Consultancy Cadre to JOHESU members.

     

  • Nigeria needs 450,000 health workers annually, says UN

    •Fed Govt, experts brainstorm on Universal Health Coverage

    NIGERIA is in dire need of an estimated 450,000 health workers per year for the next 10 years to be able to achieve the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), according to the United Nations (UN).

    Presently, the number of health workers produced in the country yearly is about 45,000.

    It was also gathered that Nigeria needs about 237,000 medical doctors, but presently has only 35,000 doctors. The country is also rated second in terms of inadequate number of nurses and midwives in Africa with only 152,000.

    Besides, about 65 per cent of Nigerians still lack proper access to healthcare services and 70 per cent of the rural populace has no access to healthcare services, according to World Health Organisation (WHO).

    Consequently, to close the gap, the Federal Government introduced the policy of Task Shifting and Task Sharing (TSTS), which is aimed at moving task from highly specialised to less specialised health workers.

    The essence is to free more time for the highly skilled health workers to provide specialised critical services. When properly done, task shifting can make more efficient and effective use of human resources currently available by reallocating tasks among the front-line health care workers, it was learnt.

    Speaking yesterday in Abuja at a stakeholders meeting between the Ministry of Health and Non-Governmental Organisations/Civil Society Organisations in the country, an expert, Dr. Emmanuel Abanida, who is the Senior Technical Adviser, the Development Research and Project Centre (DRPC)-PAS, said the country cannot achieve UHC, if there are no health workers to do the job.

    Quoting the UN and WHO, Abanida said: “The UN have estimated that for Nigeria to be able to achieve UHC and SDGs, we need about 450,000 health workers per year for the next  10 years. And right now, we are only doing close to 45,000 per annum, which is very low.

    “It is estimated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that 65 per cent of Nigerians lack proper access to healthcare services. Seventy per cent of the rural populace has no access at all to healthcare services in Nigeria.

    “With a population of over 170 million, Nigeria needs about 237,000 medical doctors but currently has only 35,000 doctors. As at 2017, Nigeria is second in terms of inadequate number of Nurses and Midwives in Africa with only 152,000 closely followed by Ethiopia.”

    He, therefore, said: “We are all aiming to achieve the sustainable development goals and universal health coverage but that cannot be possible if we do not have health workers to do the job.

    “Some of those that are available are under-utilised while some are over-utilised. Some people are doing work that can be done by people with lesser qualification or skills. So, the whole essence of TSTS is that what a particular health worker can do without causing harm that will relieve a higher lay of health workers to do some other duties, let him/her do it.”

    The meeting between the government and the NGO/CSO, Abanida said, was meant to brainstorm on the ongoing review of the TSTS, so as to ensure smooth implementation across the country.

    Also, Dr. Kayode Afolabi noted that the implementation of the TSTS policy was about 57 per cent across the country.

  • Breaking: JOHESU suspends six weeks strike action

    The striking health workers have suspended the six weeks nationwide strike action.

    The suspension is with effect from Thursday, 31st May, 2018.

    The health workers under the umbrella body of the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) had proceeded on a nationwide strike action on midnight of 17th April, 2018 following the Federal Government inability to honour agreements between both parties. While the strike action lasted government hospitals were only operating skeletal services, as only serious emergency cases were attended to.

    However, following the intervention of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, the leadership of the unions met Thursday where it was agreed to suspend the strike.

    Read Also:Strike: Court orders FG, JOHESU back to negotiation table

    Announcing the suspension of the strike action at the end of the National Executive Council meeting of the unions held in Abuja, Com. Josiah Biobelemoye, National Chairman, JOHESU said the suspension is to pave way for further negotiations to continue on Monday 4th June 2018.

    Biobelemoye who briefed the media in the present of the president of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Dr. Ayuba Wabbara and other leaders of the unions expressed dismay and the insincerity and unseriousness exhibited at the negotiation table by the Government negotiating team which led to the breakdown of further negotiations and unnecessarily prolonged the strike action.

    He stressed that JOHESU strike actions is neither ill nor politically motivated but in a bid to save the health sector from imminent collapse

    He therefore said that the suspension of the strike action was not as a result of the court injunction but for the sympathy for the people.

    He said, “Due to the intervention of His Excellency, the Senate President, Senator (Dr.) Abubakar Bukola Saraki who through his love for the suffering masses displayed high level of statesmanship and sincerity of purpose by putting some machineries in place with a view to permanently resolving the issues in contention. JOHESU having considered his intervention after holding just two meetings with leadership, where serious progress were made.

    “The various gains from the meetings with His Excellency, the Senate President were presented to the NEC of JOHESU, after an exhaustive deliberations and discussions, the NEC in session approved that the six (6) weeks old strike be suspended this day Thursday, 31st May, 2018 because of the sympathy the Unions have for the suffering Nigerian masses and also to pave way for further negotiations to continue on Monday 4th June, 2018.”

    He also added, “We would like to place on record that JOHESU strike actions is neither ill nor politically motivated but in a bid to save the health sector from imminent collapse.”

    On his part, Wabara assured the unions of the support of the NLC, stressing that it has justified case.

    He noted that there were interventions by people in high places.

    He hoped that there will be fairness and justice going forward between the government and unions.

  • Fed Govt moves to sack over 750,000 striking health workers

    THE Federal Government has begun moves to dismiss 750,000 striking members of the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU).

    As part of the plan, it has directed governing boards of government-owned hospitals to invoke the provisions of Public Service Rule 030413 on the workers for failing to report for duty.

    The government also instructed the governing boards to restore services in their various hospitals with immediate effect, saying nobody has the right to shut down any government hospital.

    The Nation gathered that Minister of Health Prof. Isaac Adewole gave the directive at an emergency meeting with chief medical directors and medical directors of government owned hospitals and their governing boards.

    The public service rule 030413 reads: “Any officers who absent himself/herself from duty or travels out from Nigeria without leave, renders himself/herself liable to be dismissed from service and the onus shall rest on him/her to show that the circumstances do not justify the position of the full penalty”.

    The public service rule consider the action referred to by the minister as serious misconduct, which can lead to dismissal from service if proven.

    Sources told The Nation that the government may also be working toward proscribing JOHESU, which is made up of five allied professional unions. They constitute about 98 per cent of staff of the hospitals.

    The health minister was said to have told the governing boards that anyone, who fails to resume work should be considered to have absconded from duty without leave, which is a serious misconduct in line with the Public Service rule 030413.

    Director, Media and Public Relations in the Ministry of Health Mrs. Boade Akinola quoted the minister as saying that the chief executives not willing to keep the services running should be suspended and be replaced with another officer in acting capacity.

    The statement said the minister’s directive was given at an emergency meeting with the CMDs/MDs of tertiary hospitals on Monday, where the impact of the ongoing strike on health services in government hospitals was reviewed.

    On the strike, Minister of Labour and Employment Senator Chris Ngige said he has been restraining the Ministry of Health from engaging supporting staff to fill the vacancies created by the strike.

    He noted that he may not be able to restrain them for too long.

    Ngige said: “They are on essential services and ILO has conditionalities for workers on essential services. They are not supposed to go on strike. ILO also has provision, which states that if workers on essential services go on strike, the employer must be protected. They are allowed to deny them payment for the period they are away and employ advocate staff to fill the vacancies. I have pleaded and pleaded.

    “They know these laws because they are very vast. We have been begging. These people in JOHESU are Nigerians. If we terminate their appointments and ask new employees to come, you will see over one million applications to fill those vacancies because there are qualified Nigerians outside there.

    “But I have restrained the Health Ministry for some time now. I don’t even know for how long I can restrain them. In doing my restrain, I am guided by the fact that I know that the doctors alone cannot handle the health services. I know that because I am a doctor.

    “I also know that the doctors are not conducting themselves in a very dignified way in this negotiation. Why should they be putting their mouth and interloping? It is in the Labour laws that they should not interfere in what is happening to another union. This is the situation with JOHESU and the ongoing strike.”

  • Fed Govt invokes ‘no work, no pay’ rule, health workers allege

    •Union condemns action

    STRIKING health workers under the auspices of the Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) have accused the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Folorunso Adewole and his officials of resorting to acts of intimidation by withholding their salaries for April.

    The government had earlier threatened to invoke the “no work, no pay” policy, if the health workers go on strike.

    Investigation by The Nation revealed that the workers have not been paid their April salaries, even though the strike started mid-April.

    JOHESU National Chairman Biobelemoye Joy Josiah, who spoke with The Nation yesterday, also said they were yet to be served the court order asking them to call off the strike and return to work immediately.

    He added that even though he has asked the Ministry of Labour to ask the Industrial Court to serve them, they were yet to be served.

    Josiah said the ministry for deciding to apply the “no work, no pay policy” was taking the wrong approach since the law stipulates that any worker who worked for half of the month is entitled to his salary.

    He said: “Actually, that is one of the most unfortunate things that has happened. It is a devilish one. That goes to show you how the Ministry of Health that has been converted to Ministry of Doctors will stop at nothing to intimidate our people in an attempt to prevent them from fighting for their rights.

    “Everybody knows that if somebody worked half of a month, he is entitled to his salary. Even if they want to be the devil to implement the ‘no work, no pay policy” after giving them 66 days’ notice, we believe that we will get to that point after the strike.

    “We gave them notice and met all conditions and they decided to instigate the strike because they feel that they have a weapon to use and in a draconian way, they have decided to implement that.

    “Again, they are implementing it wrongly because if I have worked and you say ‘no work, no pay’, and you think that is correct, you will only have to take away that part that I did not work. But they have taken everything, and we will get to that point because since they know how to go to court, after the strike, we will also challenge them and demand damages because they are owing us.”

    The JOHESU Chairman said even though their lawyers has filed an appeal and stay of execution against the court’s order asking them to return to work, they were yet to be officially served the court order, eight days after it was made.

    He dismissed claims that the order was served on them through substituted service.

    He said the court could not have made any order of substituted service of its order since JOHESU has not rejected service, but were rather asking to be served the order in accordance with the law.

    He said: “As I speak with you right now, I have not been served the court order. The other day, when they called us for a meeting, I sent them a message and also told the Minister of Labour that they have been banding around the existence of a court order, I have not seen any order of court served on us. I only travelled for one day to honour the invitation from DSS. Now, I have not seen any order. So, please, tell Industrial Court to serve us the court order.

    “I even sent a message when they brought us the invitation letter for a meeting that they should tell the Industrial Court to come and serve us the court order.”