The Enugu State Ministry of Health has condemned the strike action of the Association of Resident Doctors, ARD, Enugu State University Teaching Hospital, ESUTH, describing same as “ill-timed, malicious, condemnable and not done in good faith.”
In the statement Signed by Dr. Ifeanyi Agujiobi, the Permanent Secretary of Ministry of health, they wondered how the doctors will be going ahead with such actions at a time the country is trying to contain the Corona Virus. The ministry also chided the striking doctors for failing to give the government the necessary time before going ahead with the action.
The statement reads;
The Enugu State Government received with dismay, news making the rounds that the ESUTH ARD Doctors have proceeded on a 5-day warning strike. This is ill-timed, malicious, condemnable and not done in good faith. More so, it completely contradicts the creeds of the Hippocratic Oath which they swore to uphold.
The striking resident doctors are well aware there are patients given free medical and surgical treatment from a recent medical outreach organized by an American NGO – the Faith Care Foundation, in collaboration with U-TOFL – an indigenous NGO, at ESUTH Parklane Hospital, that were supposed to be followed up but are now left unattended to as a consequence of this unreasonable and highly unpatriotic action.
There are also patients in the wards that are hurriedly being discharged and may have attendant complications with poor health outcomes.
It is worrisome to note fact that this action is coming at such a time the Federal Government of Nigeria and various state governments are grappling with the challenge of the new Corona Virus outbreak.
It is expected that a notice of the purported strike should have been given at least 24 hours or more to Enugu State Government which was never done and this runs contrary to labour laws on strike actions. Worse, all the key officials of ARD ESUTH PARKLANE HOSPITAL have since remained incommunicado as their phones are switched off.
More worrisome is the fact that the state government has not owed any of the doctors their monthly salaries and the doctors are comparatively well cared for. For instance, last month, (February) salary was paid on Saturday, 22nd of February, 2020, with the new minimum wage and the upward consequential adjustment.
It is pertinent to note that in just 48hours to this strike, the entire workers in Enugu State embarked on a road march from the state secretariat to the Government House, Enugu, to thank His Excellency, the Governor of Enugu State – Rt. Hon. Dr Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, for keeping faith with his promise and paying Enugu State civil servants the new minimum wage with the striking doctors receiving their fair share.
Discussion on further enhancement of the welfare of doctors and other health care personnel at ESUTH Parklane Hospital is being looked into by a committee set up by the His Excellency, even when the Management of ESUTH Parklane Hospital has been asked to turn in the comprehensive list of all resident doctors in the hospital.
This would enable Management evaluate the TENANCY of their residency training program as some of them have actually overstayed their duration as contained in their appointment letters/guideline for the residency program so as to know the actual number of doctors in training that the State Government is dealing with.
It’s imperative to also note that the Enugu State Government secured accreditation in some relevant departments and is poised to see that the hospital is placed at an enviable position compared to other State training institutions in the region. This was made possible by the State Government’s unrelenting commitment to the health sector and State Executive Council’s approvals made recently in several facets as requested by the management of ESUTH Parklane Hospital.
We therefore advise all doctors in ESUTH Parklane Hospital to be at their duty posts so as not to abscond from their civic responsibilities. And any loss of life or complications arising from this unlawful action at ESUTH Parklane Hospital will be seriously dealt with as the Enugu State Government will take it head-on with the management of ESUTH Parklane Hospital and the managing team/unit of the occasioned patient.
We implore the general public and good people of Enugu State to also be aware that our General Hospitals at Nsukka, Enugu Ezike, Udi, Agbani, Awgu, Ikem, Uwani as well as the Poly General Hospital Enugu are now well equipped and ready to take medical consultations and treatment by our medical and health personnel.
Finally, we still encourage everyone to observe basic universal health precautions and personal hygiene in this wake of National Public Health emergencies.
