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Tag: resident doctors

  • Wike approves recruitment of 34 resident doctors for FCT hospitals

    Wike approves recruitment of 34 resident doctors for FCT hospitals

    The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike, has approved the recruitment of 34 resident doctors for a  seven-year residency training to enhance health-care delivery in FCT.

    Mr Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant to the minister on Public Communications and Social Media, made this known in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday.

    Olayinka explained that the 34 doctors would be the first batch of 60 medical doctors approved for residency training in eight specialities in FCT Administration hospitals.

    He said that five out of the 34 doctors would work in the psychiatric department, four in internal medicine and one in general surgery.

    Others, he said would comprise one in anesthesiology, eight in family medicine, six in ophthalmology and nine in obstetrics and gynaecology.

    “This is the first time this is being done outside employees of the Health Management Board, thereby, giving doctors more opportunity and bringing more competent hands into healthcare delivery in the FCT,” he said.

    The spokesman added that the remaining 26 doctors would be recruited in due course by the FCTA Civil Service Commission.

    He said that the 26 doctors would comprise one for psychiatry department, four for internal medicine, eight for general surgery, five in anesthesiology, and eight paediatrics.

  • UCH resident doctors embark on indefinite strike

    UCH resident doctors embark on indefinite strike

    Members of the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) at University College Hospital (UCH) in Ibadan have embarked on an indefinite strike, an official said on Monday.

    The Association’s General Secretary, Dr Uthman Adedeji, told NAN in Ibadan that the strike was due to power outage in some of the hospital’s residential areas.

    Recall that the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, (IBEDC) reconnected UCH on Wednesday, after more than 100 days of power outage.

    The association had earlier issued a communique that members would embark on an indefinite strike if electricity was not restored not later than 4 p.m on Monday.

    Adedeji said while electricity had been restored only some parts of the residential quarters were reconnected.

    “Arising from the just-concluded Emergency General Meeting (EGM) of ARD UCH which was convened to appraise the current situation, it was observed that a part of the residential quarters were reconnected.

    “Some other parts were however left in darkness.

    “In the light of the prevailing circumstance, we are left with no other option than to embark on the earlier planned total and indefinite strike until all residential quarters are sorted (taken care of).

    “We acknowledge the efforts of the UCH Management towards meeting our demand, but a lot needs to be done in order to guarantee uninterrupted service delivery.”

    Adedeji assured that the association would regularly review the current imbroglio infringing on the welfare of its members.

  • UCH resident doctors set for indefinite strike

    UCH resident doctors set for indefinite strike

    The Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), University College Hospital (UCH) Ibadan Chapter, says it will embark on an indefinite strike, if power is not restored to the residential areas of the hospital.

    This is contained in a communiqué from its emergency meeting held on Feb. 14, which was made available to newsmen on Monday in Ibadan.

    Recall that the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), reconnected the UCH on Feb. 12, after more than 100 days of power outage.

    According to the communiqué signed by the chapter’s President, Dr Gboyega Ajibola, and General Secretary, Dr Uthman Adedeji, the residential areas were not reconnected.

    The duo noted that this was in spite of the residential areas having prepaid meters with units amounting to hundreds of thousands of naira.

    They added that after exploring all available options to engage with the UCH management and address the issue, an emergency congress was convened.

    They said the congress demanded that all residential areas within the hospital, including East Gate Road, as well as Circular Road surrounding the College of Medicine, should have their power restored not later than 4p.m., on Monday.

    “Failure to restore the areas requested will result in the congress of the chapter initiating a total and indefinite strike.

    “The congress supports accelerating the unbundling process of Electrical power blocs in the hospital to promote harmony.

    “But the leadership of ARD must be included in all delegations for critical discussions, meetings or summons by higher authorities concerning power supply in UCH.

    “We resolved that a strongly worded letter outlining the true narrative regarding power situation, be sent to the Chief Medical Director (CMD), with relevant stakeholders informed,” they said.

    The duo also urged the CMD, Prof. Jesse Otegbayo to process the payment of the 75 per cent accoutrement allowance for 2024 without delay.

    They further urged the management to prioritise the welfare of resident doctors, reflecting the goodwill of congress members demonstrated over the past 100 days.

    “We call for sustained modality of ‘call food’ provision to resident doctors on call,” they added.

  • Popoola: Resident doctors halt seven day warning strike

    Popoola: Resident doctors halt seven day warning strike

    The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors on Sunday directed its members to resume work on Monday after embarking on a seven-day nationwide warning strike over the abduction of their colleague, Dr Ganiyat Popoola.

    It would be recalled that Popoola was kidnapped eight months ago.

    The NARD President, Dele Abdullahi, while speaking to newsmen said the association will review the Federal Government’s commitment to resolving its demand in the next three weeks.

    In his words, “We are suspending the strike now. We will be meeting to review the progress the government has made in the next three weeks.

    “We are resuming on Monday, September 2, 2024, at 8 am. The engagement of the government has been a little bit better. But, we are hopeful that they will sustain this current line of action.”

    Recall, NARD began a seven-day warning strike last week Monday to press for the rescue of a registrar in the Department of Ophthalmology at the National Eye Centre, Kaduna, Popoola who was  abducted along with her husband and nephew.

    Her husband was released in March, but the doctor and her nephew remain in captivity.

    The Federal Government, on Thursday, said it would invoke the ‘no work, no pay’ policy for the striking resident doctors.

    But the doctors said they were unmoved by the threat.

  • Doctors to embark on indefinite strike as 21-day ultimatum to govt expires

    Doctors to embark on indefinite strike as 21-day ultimatum to govt expires

    The Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), Kogi State Specialist Hospital (KSSH), Lokoja, has called the attention of the State Government to the expiration of the 21 days ultimatum given to it to meet its demands.

    The association had on Aug. 9, issued a 21-day ultimatum to the Kogi Government to meet its demands or be ready for an indefinite strike action, after suspending its two-day industrial action directed by the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD).

    The ultimatum was to give room for dialogue and engagement with the state government.

    The notification was given in a statement jointly signed by the ARD KSSH’s President, Dr Ameh Friday; and Secretary General, Dr Peter Samuel, and made available to journalists on Saturday in Lokoja.

    “The ARD KSSH, wishes to state that today, makes it 21 days since its last communique and one month since it suspended its industrial action as directed by the National Body – NARD – for government to look into the some of its pressing demands as listed below.

    “Having examined the inertia that has greeted our requests also keeping in view of our previous failure to join the national directive to suspend service delivery because of our commitment to the client and State Government which unfortunately has never been appreciated.

    “We will like to remind government of our modest demands once more.

    “Upward review of CONMESS 2014 to CONMESS 2023, and approval of Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023).

    “Review of hazard allowance as released by the National Salary, Income and Wages Commission, 22nd December, 2021, and implementation and cash backing of promotion as well as the statutory Annual Increments with payment of arrears of both annual increments and promotion,” it said.

    “The association stressed that the statement would serve as a reminder of the association’s initial communique.

    “The association emphasised that the moral and psychic of its members in the Kogi State Specialist Hospital is at an all time low with respect to their concerns, unfortunately, the Hospital working environment, coupled with the unpalatable economic realities have further worsened the already sour situation.

    “The ARD will convoke a Congress meeting in seven days from now to have an appraisal of the progress made so far and take a decision on all its demands,” the association said.

  • Nigerian resident doctors suspend indefinite strike amid interventions

    Nigerian resident doctors suspend indefinite strike amid interventions

    The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), comprising resident doctors from across the country, has taken the decision to suspend the indefinite strike they embarked upon since July 26.

    The National President of NARD Innocent Orji, who confirmed the development on Friday said the decision to suspend the strike came with a commitment to review progress in two weeks.

    “We just suspended the strike. Work will resume by 8 a.m. tomorrow (today). We will review the progress made in two weeks,” Orji stated.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports that the suspension of the strike follows a series of interventions from various stakeholders urging the association to either reconsider their industrial action or end it sooner.

    One such intervention came from the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, during a meeting between the House’s leadership and NARD in Abuja on July 24.

    Abbas appealed to the resident doctors to halt the strike in light of the fact that a new administration had recently assumed office and was still settling in.

    In addition to the strike, NARD had also planned to stage protests and picket tertiary health institutions and the Federal Ministry of Health.

    However, these protest plans were suspended following interventions from the Presidency and the Senate President.

    NARD’s decision to strike had been driven by a range of demands that they deemed crucial to their profession and the healthcare system in Nigeria.

    Among these demands were the immediate payment of the 2023 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF), the release of the circular on one-for-one replacement, payment of skipping arrears, and an upward review of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) to restore it to its 2014 value.

    In addition, the association advocated for the payment of arrears related to the consequential adjustment of minimum wage for omitted doctors and also sought the reversal of the downgrading of membership certificates by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN).

    NARD is also demanding new hazard allowances, implementation of corrected CONMESS in state tertiary health institutions, and the payment of omitted hazard allowance arrears.

     

  • Resident doctors turn down 25% increase in salary

    Resident doctors turn down 25% increase in salary

    … insist fuel subsidy removal has rubbished its value

    The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has rejected the Federal Government’s proposal of a 25 per cent increase in doctors’ basic salary and a quarterly N25,000 accoutrement allowance.

    This rejection comes amid their ongoing nationwide indefinite strike, as they claim that the government has not met their demands.

    According to Dr. Emeka Orji, the President of NARD, the association firmly refuses the proposed 25 per cent salary increment and accouterment allowance, insisting on the full restoration of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure to its 2009 value when it was initially approved.

    The current salary structure, implemented in 2014, has lost its value due to inflation, exchange rate fluctuations, and fuel price hikes. Hence, the resident doctors are requesting a return to the 2014 salary value, which they calculate to be more than a 600 per cent increase when accounting for the removal of fuel subsidy.

    In addition to salary concerns, Resident doctors also demand the immediate payment of the 2023 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF), the replacement of departed doctors and nurses with new ones, payment of salary arrears, improved hazard allowance by state governments, and a reversal of the downgrading of membership Medical Dental Council of Nigeria, MDCN.

    Furthermore, NARD is opposing the casualization of doctors in all tertiary health institutions in Nigeria and urging the government to enhance security measures to prevent incidents like the recent abduction of Prof. Ekanem Philip-Ephraim of UCTH Calabar, one of its trainers.

    Resident doctors say strike to continue indefinitely

    Meanwhile, NARD has said the ongoing nationwide strike action embarked upon by its members on Wednesday may continue indefinitely

    It added that the strike would continue until reasonable progress was made by the government to address its demands as contained in the ultimatum issued to the federal government on July 5.

    The association made its stand known in a communique it issued on Saturday at the end of its National Executive Council  (NEC) meeting held in Lagos.

    The meeting which began on Monday had “Bullying in Medical Practice: a Matter of Perspective?” as its theme.

    The communique was signed jointly by NARD’s National President, Dr Innocent Orji, Secretary-General, Dr Chikezie Kelechi and the Publicity and Social Secretary, Dr Umar Musa.

    The demands of the group include the immediate release of the circular on the One-for-One policy for the replacement of exited clinical workers for implementation.

    “We cannot continue to watch our members lose their lives and break down under the weight of work overload occasioned by massive depletion of clinical staff in our hospitals on account of brain drain.

    “We demand as a matter of urgency, the immediate payment of the 2023 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF).

    “To demand the payment of all salaries and arrears including the salary arrears of 2014-2016, arrears of hazard allowance, arrears of consequential adjustment of the minimum wage, and promotion arrears to our deserving members without further delay.”

    The association also called on the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) to reverse the downgrading of the membership certificate.

    It added that continuing with the downgrading of the certificates  would only reduce the value placed on the postgraduate medical training in Nigeria.

    The group said it embarked on the strike action on Wednesday after many months and years of non implementation of agreements reached with the government.

    “NEC observed the attempts made by some well-meaning Nigerians to resolve the issues at stake but expressed surprise that these have not resulted in any meaningful solutions.

    “We have observed the various meetings held with government agents and officials over the demands of NARD, the various memoranda and agreements reached, and the unfortunately slow wheel of progress of the government’s implementation processes.

    “NEC also observed with shock that up till now, about two months after the agreed date, the government has not yet released the circular on one-for-one replacement of exited clinical workers,” it noted.

    The association said that this was in negligence of the morbid and mortal effects of the massive brain drain on its members still working in the country and Nigerian citizens.

  • Resident doctors’ strike: FMC Jabi, Abuja, employ means to cushion effect

    Resident doctors’ strike: FMC Jabi, Abuja, employ means to cushion effect

    As the National Association of Resident Doctors’ (NARD) five-day warning strike enters third day on Friday, hospitals have had to make adjustments to their schedules to accommodate as many patients as possible.

    Newsmen who visited Federal Medical Centre, Jabi, Abuja, found that patients were still being attended to even though there were few patients.

    Nurses were seen at their posts, while the various departments were also attending to patients as best as they could.

    Speaking about the measures employed to cushion the effect of the absence of the resident doctors, the Head of Clinical Services, Dr Joseph Eziechila, said that though service delivery was not as it should be, the hospital would not shut down.

    He added that the management of the hospital had to think out of the box to keep the facility running.

    “We had to think out of the box on how to maintain services. Resident doctors are the bedrock of healthcare delivery because they are more in number.

    “Here, we have close to 100 consultants but the resident doctors, youth corps members and others will number like 350, so they are the main workforce.

    “When patients visit the hospital, they are the first point of call before you contact the consultants if there are issues.

    “However, what we did in this case is that we have some youth corps doctors and we still have a few locum doctors, we have house officers that are not part of the strike and we have principal medical officers.

    “So, as much as we can, we try to make use of these people to keep services, the emergencies running and some other points of service delivery so that the hospital is not completely shut down.”

    He said that the situation had caused the consultants to do some extra work.

    He added that “though it is a short strike, we have to mobilise all the consultants. In the outpatient clinic, we have to mobilise all the consultants to work outside their normal schedule.

    “If you get there now, we have like four of the consultants at the same time, the consultants running the specialist clinic also run their clinic on their own.

    “Where it becomes a problem is if the strike is prolonged; but I had to call a meeting with the departments to appeal to them to go the extra mile for this very short time.”

    Ezeichila, however, said that the hospital did not have an influx of patients as before, adding that news of the strike automatically reduces the high rate of hospital visits by patients.

    According to him, as soon as patients hear that doctors are on strike, they rather stay back, not knowing that measures have been put in place to ensure that they are attended to.

    A visit to Maitama District Hospital, Abuja, also revealed that patients were being attended to.

    Though the number of patients had reduced, a handful were seen accessing care.

    Some of them who spoke to NAN on condition of anonymity said they were surprised that doctors were on ground to attend to them.

    One of them also told NAN that the absence of patients in the hospital made services faster than usual.

    NAN reports that NARD served a letter of warning strike to the Federal government on Tuesday, saying it could not guarantee further industrial harmony should government fail to address issues raised before May 29.

    The NARD letter entitled: “Notice of Strike Action’’ was jointly signed by its National President, Dr Innocent Orji and Secretary-General, Dr Chikezie Kelechi.

    In the letter, the association issued a two-week ultimatum to the Federal Government to resolve issues as contained in the ultimatum before its expiration on May 13.

    The Tuesday letter read in part: “regrettably, the issues have remained unresolved, despite several attempts by NARD to get government to resolve them.

    “Rising from her Extra-Ordinary Meeting on Monday, May 15, NARD’s National Executive Council resolved to embark on a five-day warning strike beginning on May 17.’’

    The doctors are demanding an immediate increment in the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure to the tune of 200 per cent of current gross salaries of doctors.

    NARD is also demanding the immediate withdrawal of the Bill seeking to compel medical and dental graduates to serve compulsorily in Nigeria for five years before getting full licences to practise.

    It also wants immediate domestication of the Medical Residency Training Act and review of Hazard Allowance by state governments.

    The five-day warning strike which started on Wednesday ended on Friday.

  • Anxiety as resident doctors set for 5-day warning strike on Wednesday

    Anxiety as resident doctors set for 5-day warning strike on Wednesday

    The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), says it will commence a five-day warning strike on Wednesday.

    President of the association, Dr Innocent Orji, disclosed this on Monday while speaking on the outcome of its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting.

    According to Dr Orji, the warning strike will begin by 8 am on Wednesday.

    The association had on April 29 issued a two-week notice to the Federal Government to increase the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) or risk industrial action.

    It said at the time that the increment should be to the tune of 200 per cent of the current gross salary of doctors and also be in addition to the new allowances included in the letter written to the Minister of Health in 2022 for the review of CONMESS.

    According to the association, it observed that in spite of several engagements with the Federal Government on the need to upwardly review CONMESS, which was last reviewed over 10 years ago, there are no changes.

    “The Federal Government has neither called NARD to the negotiation table nor taken any tangible step in addressing the issue.

    “This is against the background of the dwindling economic situation in the country, the serial abysmal decline in the value of the Naira, the imminent removal of fuel subsidy and the consequent damaging effect on the cost of living in the country.

    “There have been previous ultimatums issued to the government by NARD on account of this problem of the review of the CONMESS salary structure.”

    It added that the previous Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) on CONMESS stated clearly that the salary structure would be due for review after five years, but this has not been done since the implementation in 2014, though the approval was given in 2009.

    Orji, however, said that since the issuance of the two-week notice the association had not been called upon by the Federal Government to initiate negotiations.

  • Anambra: NAUTH resident doctors suspends warning strike

    Anambra: NAUTH resident doctors suspends warning strike

    The Association of Resident Doctors, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital (NAUTH), Nnewi, Anambra, has called off its five-day warning strike over assault of its member allegedly by patients’ families.

    This is contained in a statement signed by the group’s President, Dr Chinwe Ndukwe, and General Secretary, Dr Egbue Obiora, and made available to newsmen in Awka on Saturday.

    Recall that the doctors embarked on a five-day warning strike on Wednesday, to express displeasure over the assault allegedly meted out to one of its members by a deceased patient’s relatives.

    It stated that the body resolved to suspend the strike following the hospital management’s commitment to fulfil all the demands outlined by the association.

    The association resumed emergency services by 8.a.m. on Saturday and routine clinic services and activities by Monday, Jan. 30, it said.

    “After an emergency meeting held on Friday, the association observed that the hospital management has shown commitment by ensuring the arrest of the culprits and promised to follow the matter to a logical conclusion.

    “The management has begun the enforcement of compliance to visiting hours in the wards and has put measures to ensure that patient’s relatives are not found inside the wards at odd hours.

    “The hospital management has also reiterated their commitment to fulfil other demands outlined by group and the executives would continue to engage the hospital management until other demands are met,” it said.

    The statement commended the hospital’s management for the swift response and called for the institution of a rapid response team to quickly tackle such menace on the spot in the event of any re-occurrence.

    It said “that any other form of assault on any doctor will be met with stringent measures.”