Medical services at the
University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) Enugu may not be restored soon,
as the striking resident doctors have resolved not to return to work despite
efforts by the Dr. Christopher Amah-led management to resolve the industrial
dispute.
Activities at the hospital have been paralysed for more than two months.
The Guardian learnt that,
despite doctors' absence from duty posts, they have received their salaries but
insisted that unless the skipping allowances and other demands made by their
union were resolved they would not return to work.
At present, the hospital is
unable to admit patients into the wards while doctors are not available at the
General Out-Patients Department (GOPD), leaving only the Emergency, Cardiothoracic,
Intensive Care, Renal Units, Ante-natal clinic and the Eye Theatre as the only
departments rendering services.
Chief Medical Director of
UNTH, Dr. Christopher Amah, and other management staff had held talks with the
aggrieved medical workers, comprising resident doctors, Medical Officers and
House Officers between July 5 when the strike commenced and last Friday,
September 11, pleading with them to call off the strike in the interest of the
suffering patients.
The CMD had explained to them
that "there was no circular from the Federal Ministry of Health
authorizing implementation of the skipping allowance", assuring that once
the fund was appropriated in the next budget the management would not hesitate
to pay the allowances.
It was gathered that while
some leaders of the medical workers union had agreed to suspend the strike,
having investigated and realised that there was no fund actually released to
the hospital for the payment, some officials of the union led by leaders of the
Association of Resident Doctors have vowed to continue with the strike.
The Union leaders, who met
last Friday, according to one of the members, took a decision not to resume
work demanding that the management should release funds from its Internally Generated
Revenue (IGR) to pay the skipping allowances.
The management was said to
have explained to the aggrieved medical workers that the IGR was not meant to
be used in settling workers' entitlements, adding that with the recent
directive on the operation of Treasury Single Account by the Federal
Government, such expenditure could not be authorised by the hospital.
"It is becoming very
clear to us that some of our colleagues in the medical sector have other
motives beyond the implementation of the skipping allowances, which was our
main reason for embarking on the strike since July. They want to play politics with the strike which many
of us have said is no longer necessary because our colleagues in other teaching
hospitals have already called off the strike."
He disclosed that many of the
striking doctors who are sympathetic to the plight of the patients, had during
the union's meeting last Friday expressed desire to return to work, more so
when they had been paid for the period they did not work, but this was turned
down by some union leaders "who are bent on causing unnecessary trouble in
the hospital."
Following the directive by
the Federal Ministry of Health to the Teaching Hospitals nationwide that
implementation of skipping be suspended since there was no fund appropriated
for it in this year's budget, medial workers at other Federal Teaching
Hospitals in Calabar, Ibadan, Lagos, Nnewi and the National Orthopeadic
Hospital, Enugu have since called of their strike. However, they were
said to have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), with their management
agreeing to implement the skipping allowances as soon as funds were available
for it.
Efforts to speak with the Chairman of the Association of
Resident Doctors, UNTH Chapter, Dr Alloy Ifedinso Ugwoke, on the matter on
Sunday were unsuccessful as his phone was not reachable.
The Guardian could not also reach Dr. Amah, the chief
medical director, as his telephone line continued to ring out on Sunday.
Source allafrica
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