The Ondo State chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has issued a seven-day ultimatum to the state government to meet its demands or face industrial disharmony.
The medical practitioners disclosed this in a communiqué issued yesterday after the association’s
Ordinary General Meeting (OGM) in Akure.
It lamented that doctors in the state have been subjected to poor welfare packages with only 22 resident doctors available at the state’s Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital (UNIMEDTHC).
While vowing to embark on industrial action if their demands are not met, the doctors frowned at the continued exodus of their colleagues from the state over poor welfare packages.
They also lamented the non-implementation of the approved hazard allowance and disparities in the salaries of doctors in the state when compared to neighbouring states.
Chairman of NMA in the state, Dr. Omosehin Adeyemi-Osowe, while reading the communiqué, noted that there was a dire shortage of health personnel in the state, saying doctors have refused to take up employment with the state government.
“This is not unconnected with the point of entry into the service, which has been reviewed and approval given by the Federal Government to be at Grade Level 13 Step 2 for doctors.
“However, Ondo State is still using Grade Level 12, Step 3, hence, the refusal of doctors to take up employment with the State Civil Service as witnessed in the last exercise conducted by the Ondo Civil Service Commission,” Adeyemi-Osowe said.
According to him, numerous doctors within the Ondo State Civil Service have left for greener pastures locally to neighbouring states of Osun, Lagos, Ekiti, Kwara, and Delta; and internationally to African countries like Sierra Leone, Gambia, South Africa, etc., while some went outside the continent to the United States of America, Canada, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and Germany.
“There are only 22 resident doctors at UNIMEDTHC compared to the previous figure of 150 resident doctors.
“Only a few weeks ago, eight doctors left the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Unit at UNIMEDTHC in Ondo State to join the same unit at OAUTHC, Ile Ife, Osun State,” he disclosed.
The communiqué added: “The Congress observed that the following units at UNIMEDTHC do not have resident doctors under training: Orthopaedics, Burns and Plastics; Ear, Nose and Throat; Mental Health and Paediatric Surgery.
“It was noted with great concern the collapse of the Neurosurgery Department of the teaching hospital –no resident doctors and no consultants in that unit presently.
“It was observed that the state General Hospitals located at Iwaro-Oka, Ipe, Irele and Ido-Ani, where we used to have at least five doctors per General Hospital, now have a doctor per General Hospital, and this doctor is expected to be on call every day of the week, and that same doctor is also expected to see to the day-to-day running of the hospital.”
