Nigeria resident doctors begin first strike under President Tinubu

Nigerians wan sidon dey look until all di doctors and nurses waka comot from di kontri? Dis na di question wey di President of di National Resident Doctors Association (NARD), Dr Emeka Orji dey ask im kontri pipo as Nigeria doctors for goment hospital begin strike.

Di president say time don reach for Nigerians to chook mouth for dis di agbas gbos wit di goment wey don dey drag for many years now.

Although dis na di first strike wey di association wey go under President Ahmed Bola Tinubu wey enta office less dan two, di association say dem don dey go strike to see weda goment go ansa dem for wetin dem dey demand.

Dr. Orji say, apart from di five days warning strike wey dem go two months ago, di last time wey dem bin go strike na for 2021.

Under di kontri former goment, NARD bin dey always go strike to demand for di same tins wey dem still dey ask for today, but for 2021 dem press pause for strike so dem go fit tok wit goment.

'Total and indefinite strike'

Di National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) declare “total and indefinite strike,” on 26 July.

NARD for one statement wey dem bin release to announce di strike say dem no go end di strike until Nigeria goment respond to all dia demands.

Part of di tins wey di doctors dey demand na di sharp sharp payment of di 2023 MRTF, immediate release of one circular wey concern one-for-one replacement, and payment of all di arears wey goment dey owe dem.

Di second mata na di payment of di 2023 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF) wey goment don capture for di 2023 budget appropriation but till July goment neva release am.

Inside di list of tins wey dem want, dem also want make goment review increase of CONMESS according to dia full salary restoration to di 2014 value of CONMESS, di payment of arrears of consequential adjustment of minimum to doctors wey dem bin omit and make dem reverse di downgrade wey MDCN do di membership certificate.

Dia demand no end dia, odas include payment of MRTF, new hazard allowance, implementation of di correct CONMESS for State Tertiary Health Institutions, and payment of hazard allowance arrears wey dem bin omit.

One-for-one replacement

One of di koko for di strike na di one-for-one replacement circular wey di doctors want goment to address for di strike.

Dis na document wey suppose address di shortage of doctors and nurses for di kontri.

Nigeria dey battle wit massive brain drain, meaning say doctors and nurses dey japa leave di kontri steady and goment no dey quick employ to replace pipo wey don leave.

To solve dis wahala, goment set up ministerial committee to do guideline on how dem go fit quickly replace doctors and nurses wey dey leave di system.

Dis bin dey necessary becos according to Orji, di current process to replace doctor or nurse wey leave goment hospital dey take up to eight months.

“Di current bureaucracy of goment dey take up to eight months, or even more. I get some hospital for di kontri wey dia chief medical directors don ask make dem give dem permission to replace doctors, for two years dem neva get am,” Orji tok.

E say di association and goment bin reach agreement for February on how dem go take solve di problem.

Goment suppose release di circular base on di agreement, but till now, dem still no wan release am and dia members still dey leave.

Nigeria don dey face serious brain drain for im health sector and di major reason wey di health workers say dem make dem waka, na poor pay.

Di doctors and nurses say di pepper no gree rest at all for dia side because di salary small no be small.

Orji say, dem bin begin tok on how goment go take increase dia salary, only for dem to hear announcement say goment go increase dia salary by 25%.

E say: “Goment on dia own set up committee last year to negotiate and decide how many percent dem fit increase in addition to allowance. We bin dey wait for di committee to invite us, di next tin we hear be say dem don add 25%. And we dey ask, na who and dem reach dat agreement? Becos anytin wey you wan offer, di two sides must agree.”

'Patients dey die sake of no doctors'

NARD president say patients dey die sake of di lack of doctors.

“You go emergency department wey suppose get a particular number of doctors so dem go fit cope wit trauma patients, you go see just one, wetin you tink say go happun? Patients go dey die.”

Meanwhile, Chairman Medical Advisory Committee Univeristy of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH), for Rivers state Prof. Datonye Alasia say dem dey aware of di strike by resident doctors and dem don begin implement di protocol dem get in case any segment of di hospital go on strike.

E say, dem dey di first stages now and so di consultant doctors dey attend to patients and run dia different clinics along with oda medical staff like nurses and lab scientists so clinical services still dey go on.

“We get a policy, a contingency plan to deal with those kain situation irrespective of wat group of workers dey strike so we get response plan wey dey in different stages, depending on how long di strike last and how long e last. So wateva event come into place, we go activate di plan wey follow am, so di protocol dey in place to make up for any gap.” Prof. Alasia tok.

Dis association dey go strike afta dem bin give goment two weeks ultimatum on 5 July to implement all dia demands.

Goment bin try stop di strike for close door meeting wey di Speaker of di House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, bin do wit leaders of NARD on Monday.

Afta di tok, Abbas promise to meet President Bola Tinubu make dem see how dem go fit make sure say di strike no happun.

Im bin also announce one committee wey suppose torchlight di mata wit everybody wey di demand concern.

Di Speaker bin also appeal to di association make dem give di house two weeks to find how to solve di issue wey dem raise.