Another Crisis Looms in the Health Sector as Resident Doctors Proceed on Indefinite Strike!
The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) in Nigeria commenced an indefinite strike by 8:00am today. Some weeks ago, the NARD informed the government of her intention to embark on an indefinite strike if an agreement is not reached on her demands before 4th of September 2017.
With the intention to avert the strike the Government had a meeting with NARD yesterday. Ironically, the indefinite strike commenced this morning since no agreement was reached at the meeting.
According to NARD, the disagreement is centered on the following inadequacies of the part of the government:
- Failure to pay shortfall of 2016 and January to May 2017.
- Failure to rectify shortfall from August 2017.
- Failure to circularize House Officers’ entry step.
- Failure to correct stagnation of member and non placement in appropriate salary grade.
- Failure to capture members on Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).
- Failure to budget, deduct and remit members’ employees and employers contribution to their respective Retirement Savings Account (RSA)
What are the implications?
- The consultants alone cannot handle all the patients that present at the tertiary hospitals.
- Patients will suffer! Imagine the number of patients who would have to wait until this is resolved.
- Some of these patients would become prey in the hands of quacks as they seek for solution outside the tertiary hospitals.
- Patients who cannot afford the cost of private hospital could die.
- The training calendar of these doctors would be altered.
- Industrial disharmony would continue to brew in the tertiary hospitals since the government is yet to grant similar demands to other health professionals.
Picture Source: www.360nobs.com
nawa oh… this isn't good at all. first ASUU, now Resident doctors
and what really appears in the media now and then simply doesn't really speak to the truth of what the controls say. my website