Replace Striking Doctors With Corps Members – FG
Federal Government on Wednesday asked the Management officials of federal tertiary hospitals across the country to replace striking doctors with Corps Members.
The minister of health, Osagie Ehanire, while disclosing this in a statement, said its high time well-meaning medical professionals should close ranks and confront the common enemy, which is the COVID-19 pandemic threatening mankind.
Ehanire said:
We must remember that the primary duty of doctors and all health workers is to save lives. Embarking on a strike in this time that the country is battling with the COVID-19 pandemic is ill-timed and ill-advised.
It is a critical time in which all well-meaning medical professionals should close ranks and confront the common enemy, which is the COVID-19 pandemic threatening mankind.
This is therefore one strike too many. Besides, most of the demands have been met and others, though difficult, are at an advanced stage of implementation. A little patience would have made a big difference.
COVID-19 treatment outlets should continue to function as before; emergency services should continue to run as before; routine services should be maintained with consultants, NYSC Doctors; locum staffers to be brought in when and where necessary to forestall services disruption when applicable and affordable.
I call on the NARD to return to work and engage the Federal Government in completing the ongoing due process of implementing the MoU between NARD and government.
I wish to assure the general public that measures have been put in place to ensure that they continue to access services at all our federal tertiary hospitals across the country