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Tag: NMA

  • Edo NMA threatens strike over unpaid salaries

    Edo NMA threatens strike over unpaid salaries

    The Edo State chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has threatened to embark on an indefinite strike, if the state government refuses to pay their July and August 2014 salaries.

    The association also expressed anger at the government’s failure to implement the full Consolidated Medical Salary (CONMESS), poor infrastructure, lack of appropriate working tools, poor healthcare delivery and shortage of health manpower in the state.

    NMA State Chairman Prof. Afekhide Omoti, who addressed reporters in Benin, the state capital, said the government withheld the July and August salaries of its members in public hospitals because of their participation in a nationwide strike, at the instance of their national leadership.

    Prof. Omoti, who issued a 21-day ultimatum for the payment of the two-month salaries, alleged that multiple taxation paid by private hospitals and the inefficient management policy had hampered quality healthcare delivery in the state.

    The union leader noted that the gross shortage of manpower in the Health sector had resulted in “work overload for the few available unmotivated hands rendering services in extremely difficult working conditions”.

    He added: “Other states in Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), apart from Lagos, have paid the salaries. There was a ‘no-victimisation’ agreement with the Federal Government when the strike was called off.

    “We also note that members of other professional unions, including the Academics Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), were paid their salaries despite the fact that they embarked on a six-month nationwide strike.”

  • NMA threatens Lagos over doctors’ salaries

    NMA threatens Lagos over doctors’ salaries

    The Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) yesterday urged the Lagos State government to pay doctors their April and May 2012 as well as August and September 2014 salaries.

    In a letter to the government, NMA said the state has been given a 21-day ultimatum, beginning from December 29, to address the problems.

    Its chairman, Dr Tope Ojo, said NMA will ask doctors in Federal Government establishments to withdraw their services as solidarity for their counterparts in the state, to press home the demands.

    He berated the employment of doctors as casual staff and failure of the government to employ resident doctors at the State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH).

    Ojo said: “This threatens medical education and specialists training. Doctors are being victimised by the state’s Health Service Commission (HSC). Their working condition was appalling.”

     

  • How Ondo doctor died in own hospital, by NMA

    How Ondo doctor died in own hospital, by NMA

    The local chapter of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) in Ondo State has raised the alarm over the death of one of its members, Dr. David Oguntuase.

    Oguntuase died in an inferno which ravaged his hospital – Universal Medical Clinic (UMC) in Akure, the state capital on last Christmas Day.

    A body, which was burnt beyond recognition, found in one of the rooms in the hospital, was identifies as that of the doctor.

    Addresing reporters at a news conference, the chairman of NMA in the state, Dr. Betiku Bamidele, described as suspicious, the circumstances surrounding the death of the medical doctor.

    According to him, the scene of the incident was initially free for all to come in and out of the premises before concerted efforts were made by the NMA for the police to cordon off the environment.

    The NMA chairman said the action became imperative to pave the way for the utilization of the abundance of evidence.

    He alleged there was a circumscribed area on the roof burnt almost all round the building with the roof itself caving in.

    Bamidele said: “The silhouette of the burnt body (face down) was noted to be in keeping with that identified before it was taken to the mortuary of the state specialist Hospital Akure.

    “The body was dismembered on the upper and lower limbs and the area of the silhouette was still somewhat wet and one of the small bones of the foot was found on the floor.”

    He also said the room where the body was had the burglar proof of its window destroyed, noting that it was the only one so identified.

    The NMA chief explained that there were two empty gas cylinders which were intact, adding that he was also reliably informed that there was no power supply throughout the night of the incident and the generator was intact.

    He described the late doctor as a very meticulous and highly intelligent person.

    Narrating the event that preceded the doctor’s demise, Dr. Bamidele informed that few days before the incidence, the late doctor was said to have lost his handset in a rather queer circumstance, following which he had to buy another SIM card and started retrieving lost phone numbers.

    According to Bamitale, the late Oguntuase called his wife to ask her to prepare food and that he would be at home for dinner.

    According to him, the late doctor had permitted the nurse on night duty to go home since it was the Christmas Day and there were no patients on the ward.

    The NMA wondered what happened between 8pm when the nurses left and 12:30am when the inferno was noticed as reported by the neighborhood.

    Bamidele reminded the Ondo Police Command that the late Dr. Oguntuase was arrested in Owo for an Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)-related case on November 11, 2014 and arraigned at a High Court the subsequent day.

    He added that the late medical practitioner was arrested by the state Criminal Investigation Department(CID) section of the police command after he received a letter from the police through the management of the Federal; Medical Centre (FMC), Owo, where the late doctor worked as a Consultant Paediatrician.

    The letter had requested him to present himself for interrogation at the CID on an alleged threat to life and property of the FMC Medical Director, Dr.Olufemi Omotoso.

    The NMA chair alleged that the manner of evacuation of the burnt body from the scene was to say the least unscrupulous with a considerable likelihood to compromise the result of investigation.

    He said: “The press release by the PPRO (Police Public Relations Officer) of the Ondo State Command, Mr. Wole Ogodo, narrowed the incidence to electricity surge when the neighbours confirmed that there was no electricity supply at the time of the incidence.

    “This indeed is very suspicious. One could have expected the police to have conducted a preliminary investigation before the PPRO issued a statement on the cause of death of the deceased.”

    The NMA, however, said it shall resist any attempt to sweep the case under the carpet, saying the report of the police on allegation of threat to life and property must be produced.

  • NMA appeals to Lagos over doctors’ emolument

    NMA appeals to Lagos over doctors’ emolument

    The Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) has appealed to Lagos State to pay the withheld emolument of its doctors.

    NMA Lagos chapter Chairman Dr. Tope Ojo, who made the appeal in Lagos, said it was worrisome that the government withheld the emolument of the doctors for August and September following July 1 nationwide strike by its national body.

    He said other states and the FCT had complied with the agreement, leading to the suspension of the 55-day-old strike to pave the way for peace and further negotiations.

    Ojo noted that only Lagos State was yet to comply with the agreements.

    “It could be recalled that the NMA, after a series of negotiations with the government, some of its demands were met.

    “The sack of resident doctors was reversed and all outstanding emoluments had been paid as agreed, which led to the suspension of its strike action,” Ojo said.

    “It is worrisome that till date, the Lagos State government has held on to the emoluments of its doctors for August and September.

    “Also, May 2012 salary is being withheld till date in spite of several appeals. This made the government the only state that has not complied with the general agreement, ‘’ he said.

    Besides, he said the strike action was not at the instance of the Lagos State employed doctors, but the parent body of the association.

    “We do not want have an impression that the state government harbours ill-feelings against its doctors.

    ‘’The Lagos State University Academic Staff Union of University (LASU ASUU), Lagos State Polytechnic Association of Union of Polytechnic (LASPOTECH ASUP) and judiciary workers did not suffer the same fate following the suspension of their recent industrial action,” he said.

    Ojo said NMA had met with the House of Assembly, the commissioner for Health and had written two letters to Governor Babatunde Fashola for a peaceful resolution, but to no avail.

  • Lagos doctors seeks lawmakers’ help over unpaid salary

    Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) in Lagos State has appealed to the House of Assembly to intervene in the refusal of the government to pay the August salary of resident doctors following their  last nationwide strike.

    The NMA made the appeal in a letter to the Assembly, which was read on the floor of the House by the Clerk, Ganiyu Abiru, yesterday.

    The letter urged the lawmakers to call on Governor Babatunde Fashola to pay the doctors’ salary in the interest of peaceful co-existence.

    The NMA had embarked on a national industrial action, which lasted about two months before suspending it in August as a result of popular demand to contain the outbreak of the EVD.

    The letter, by the NMA chairman and the secretary, Babafemi Thomas and Tope Ojo, stated that other unions had embarked on strikes in the past and their salaries were paid.

    The medical body wondered why the government would refuse to pay their entitlement as laid down by law.

    In his comment, the Deputy Chief Whip, Rotimi Abiru, said the issue raised by the NMA was valid, adding that the House should look into it critically.

    Abiru added that the House Committee on Health should be mandated to carry out a thorough investigation.

    The Leader of the House, Ajibayo Adeyeye, said sometime last year, the resident doctors in Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) were not paid a month salary, saying the House should urgently look into it to “avert another industrial unrest.”

    He noted that it became more imperative to address the issue since other doctors, including the federal doctors, who also went on the same strike, had been paid their August salary.

    The Speaker, Adeyemi Ikuforiji, directed the Committee on Health to investigate and report back in one week.

     

  • ‘Include Adadevoh on honours’ list’

    ‘Include Adadevoh on honours’ list’

    The Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Cross River State chapter and the National Association of Seadogs have suggested that the late Dr. Ameyo Adadevoh be included on the 2014 National Honours’ list.

    They said she sacrificed her life in combating the  Ebola Virus Disease.

    NMA Chairman Dr. Callistus Enyuma said it was appalling that the Federal Government released the names of those on the National Honours list, which excluded a posthumous award for Adadevoh.

    He said: “One would expect that she should not be neglected when honours are given. I believe it is not late for her to be included on the honours’ list.  She must have that honour.”

    The President of Jokaina Deck of NAS, Mr. Fabian Avoh, said: “Let us ask the Federal Government or precisely the Presidency what yardstick was used in including all sorts of people on the list of the highest honour in the land when Adadevoh, who sacrificed her life, was not on the list.

    “The Federal Government needs to understand that the lady would have walked away without treating that patient. Let the government give credit to whom it is due.”

    The Zonal President of NAS, Area 5, Mr. George Anderson, said it was not late for the Federal Government to include Adadevoh’s name on the list.

     

  • Ebola: Fed Govt, NMA agree on schools’ resumption date

    Ebola: Fed Govt, NMA agree on schools’ resumption date

    •Committee warns against mass gathering

    The Federal Government and the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) harmonised positions on the September 22 resumption date of pupils yesterday.

    NMA said the date set for the resumption of pupils by the Federal Government was acceptable and that schools should resume “in order not to feed into the fear monster in the country.”

    The association, toeing the position of the government at a stakeholders’ meeting with the House of Representatives Committee on Education, however, gave six provisions to be followed to make the country safe.

    NMA President Dr. Kayode Obembe said the association changed its mind on the condition that the Federal Government would, among other conditions, maintain “highest level of vigilance” at the entry points, resuscitate infectious disease hospitals in states and ensure comprehensive screening of travellers.

    NMA said international port health services should be put in the highest level of vigilance and preparedness to screen immigrants for fever.

    “Recent travellers to the provinces of the endemic countries of the Ebola disease- namely Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Sudan and Gabon-must be scrutinised for the presence of the virus and epidemiologically- treated,” it added.

    NMA’s new position negates its previous stance that schools should remain closed until those suspected of having the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) and under surveillance are cleared.

    Education Minister Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, debunking allegations that the Federal Government was influenced by private school owners to adopt September 22, instead of the earlier October 13 resumption date, said government’s decision was hinged on the professional advice by the Health Ministry.

    He said: “It was a unanimous decision taken after a meeting with the Education commissioners and the Health Ministry. The Ministry of Education also wrote to the governors to give the directive more weight.”

    Shekarau added: “At no point did anybody influence this decision. There were reports that the private sector influenced the decision. That is not true.”

    The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Ports of Entry against Ebola, Dr. Sani Gwarzo, informing the lawmakers of his committee’s efforts, warned against mass rallies and gatherings until the EVD is put under check.

    Said he: “I will really want to warn against mass gathering at this time.”

     

  • EBOLA: FG, NMA agree on schools’ resumption date

    The Federal Government and the Nigerian Medical Association on Monday finally harmonized positions on the September 22 resumption of schools nationwide.

    The NMA said the September 22 date earlier announced by the federal government for the resumption of schools was acceptable and that schools should resume “in order not to feed into the fear monster in the country.”

    The association while agreeing with the government’s position at a stakeholders’ meeting with the House of Representatives Committee on Education however gave six provisions to be followed to keep the country safe.

    The President of the NMA, Dr. Kayode Obembe, said the association changed its mind on the condition that the government would, among other conditions, maintain “highest level of vigilance” in the several entry points in the country, resuscitate infectious disease hospital in states and ensure comprehensive screening of travelers.

    NMA said the international Port Health Services should be put in the highest level of vigilance and preparedness to screen those coming into the country.

    “All recent travelers to all the provinces of the current endemic countries of the Ebola disease – namely Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Sudan and Gabon-must be carefully scrutinized for the presence of the virus and epidemiologically treated accordingly,” NMA added.

     

  • Reps, minister meet on schools’ resumption Monday

    Reps, minister meet on schools’ resumption Monday

    The House of Representatives Committee on Education, on Wednesday, said it had invited the Minister of Education, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, and the Nigeria Medical Association to a meeting over the resumption date for schools.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the Chairman of the House Committee on Education, Aminu Suleiman, disclosed this to journalists on the sideline of oversight tour to some tertiary institutions in Lagos.

    Suleiman said the committee would meet with the minister and NMA officials on September 15 to discuss the resumption date for public and private schools in the country.

    He said, ” It is true that government has reviewed the position earlier taken on the resumption, government may have some reasons that are not available to us.

    “But since the Minister of Health has initially justified the reason for the review, the legislature decided to abide by that position.

    “Now, a superior, more professionally position has been taken by those supposed to drive the project in the first place.

    “The NMA advised that the review of the date will not be in the best interest of the country health wise.”

    The lawmaker said as representatives of the people, the House decided to invite the executive through the minister and the NMA, “which we have done.”

    “The meeting is slated for September 15, so that we can interact and arrive at the very best position.”

  • NMA raises fresh alarm on Ebola

    NMA raises fresh alarm on Ebola

    •Urges policing of borders, ports

    The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has cried out on the ill-preparedness of states to prevent the spread of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).

    It said the essential structures and framework to contain the outbreak of the disease on a national scale were yet to be in place, particularly at the state and local government levels.

    NMA urged the Federal Government to ensure the creation of functional EVD control committees at all levels.

    The association, at the end of its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Awka, the Anambra State capital, enjoined the Federal Government to police the borders and ports to avert further spread of the disease.

    A communiqué at the end of the meeting reads: “EVD was imported into the country by the late Patrick Sawyer, a Liberian-American, who travelled by air from Liberia to Lagos on July 20. He was admitted to a Lagos hospital immediately on arrival and died five days later. Since then, there has been local transmission (including cases in healthcare workers), and to date, Nigeria has recorded 15 confirmed cases of EVD, out of which four have died (with a case fatality of 27 per cent), while eight are under treatment.

    “The importation of EVD to Nigeria shows that we are prone and more at a risk as a nation open to diplomatic and international travels. Efforts are required from everybody to contain this epidemic and save the over 170 million Nigerians from the risk of being exposed to this deadly disease.

    “NEC stresses the need for all to be on the alert following the danger posed by Ebola and advises the Federal Government to police the borders and ports to avert further spread of the disease.

    “NEC hails the efforts of the federal and Lagos State governments in containing the spread of EVD, and attempts at establishing isolation centres in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). However, it was observed that the structures and framework for containing the outbreak on a national scale are yet to be in place, particularly at the state and local government levels. NEC, therefore, calls on the Federal Government to ensure the creation of functional EVD control committees at all levels.

    “NMA remains committed to the health of Nigerians, and is ready to work with governments and its agencies with the aim of joining forces and developing strategic actions to prevent the introduction and/or spread of EVD in other parts of the country. NMA has put in place a National EVD Response Committee headed by a renowned Public Health Physician, Prof. Michael Asuzu, and similar committees at the state level. The NMA has mandated these committees to liaise with their government counterparts to synergise their responses for the containment and treatment of any outbreak of the Ebola virus in the country.

    “NMA enjoins Nigerians, especially those in the “at-risk” states and in other states not to panic but rather keep safe by seeking best practices, collaboration and advocacy about what constitutes the risks and sources of contracting EVD. NMA is developing useful educational documents to inform and guide healthcare workers and the public regarding EVD. These will be made available to the public as soon as they are ready.

    “NEC praises President Goodluck Jonathan for the Federal Government’s N1.9 billion Ebola intervention plan, and Aliko Dangote, for the donation of N152, 956, 250.00 for the establishment of a National Ebola Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) at Yaba, Lagos, in an effort to control and halt the spread of the deadly contagious EVD.”

     

    “NMA also urges states and local governments as well as individuals to make similar financial commitments to ensure the availability of essential materials and smooth logistic operations. NEC is concerned that many states are yet to establish reliable isolation facilities and proper ambulance vehicles for conveying suspected patients to the isolation facilities and the unavailability of personal protective equipment (PPE) in quantities that can guarantee their use at all times as indicated.”