… Backs NARD strike, condemns scrapping of call duty meals
… Demands tenure reform in hospitals
By Chioma Obinna
The Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, Lagos State Branch, Thursday warned the Federal Government and the management of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, against neglecting doctors’ welfare and intimidating members participating in the ongoing nationwide strike by the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors, NARD.
Addressing journalists in Lagos, the Chairman of NMA Lagos, Dr. Saheed Babajide, said any attempt by the government or hospital authorities to threaten or harass striking doctors would be met with decisive resistance.
He warned that the Association would not hesitate to publish the names of individuals involved in such harassment.
“The NMA Lagos State Branch fully supports the legitimate industrial action declared by NARD following the expiration of its thirty-day ultimatum to the Federal Government,” Babajide said.
“The government’s refusal to meet NARD’s nineteen-point demands and the failure of the Minister of Health and Social Welfare to engage NARD leadership within the stipulated period is a clear act of negligence.”
He called on the Federal Government to immediately meet all the demands of NARD to avert a total collapse of tertiary health care and to restore public confidence in the country’s public hospitals.
Condemning LUTH’s refusal to provide call duty meals Babajide expressed outrage over what he described as ‘an unacceptable and unconscionable decision’ by the Chief Medical Director of LUTH, Professor Wasiu Adeyemo, to stop providing free call duty meals for doctors on hospital duty.
According to him, during a courtesy visit to the CMD’s office in February, the hospital leadership announced plans to replace free call meals with a canteen where doctors could buy food at subsidised rates.
The NMA Lagos Congress, he said, had since rejected that proposal, insisting that call duty meals are a statutory welfare entitlement, not a privilege.
“It is shocking that a federal tertiary hospital that charges patients fees comparable to or even higher than some private hospitals would claim it lacks funds to feed doctors who stay overnight saving lives,”
Babajide said. “Such conduct is a dereliction of leadership and a betrayal of professional ethics.”
He directed that the LUTH CMD must immediately comply with the NMA Lagos directive to provide free call duty meals for doctors on duty, warning that anything less is unacceptable.
The Association also demanded the urgent reconstitution of Boards of Management for federal tertiary hospitals, which have remained dissolved for over two years.
NMA Lagos said the absence of these boards had created a vacuum that enabled unchecked excesses, abuse of power, and policy arbitrariness by some Chief Executives.
He further called for the immediate adoption of a single, non-renewable five-year tenure for all hospital Chief Executives, saying the current system of indefinite extensions fosters abuse of office, stagnation, and victimisation of staff.
“A single five-year tenure will promote accountability, fairness, innovation, and transparency in hospital governance.
“It will prevent the personalisation of leadership positions and encourage performance-driven management.”
NMA Lagos also instructed all its affiliate bodies to remain vigilant and ready for unified action if the Federal Government, Ministry of Health, or LUTH management fails to address these welfare concerns.
“All heads of affiliate bodies under NMA Lagos State are hereby directed to remain mobilized, vigilant, and ready for unified action should federal government, federal ministry of health and social welfare or LUTH management fail to address these legitimate welfare demands.”
Doctors on call duty in LUTH, he added, are free to obtain meals wherever they deem fit if management fails to provide them, while any attempt to obstruct them from doing so will attract immediate disciplinary action and blacklisting by the Association.
The NMA further held the LUTH CMD responsible for any adverse incident that may occur while doctors are forced to leave their duty posts to search for meals during call hours.
Babajide concluded by reaffirming NMA Lagos’ commitment to defending the rights and professional dignity of Nigerian doctors, urging all stakeholders to act with fairness and integrity.
“The health of our citizens and the survival of our profession depends on leadership that values people over personal gain,” he said.
The post NMA Lagos to FG, LUTH: Stop neglecting doctors or face resistance appeared first on Vanguard News.
