Health

NARD Calls For Domestication Of Medical Training Act 2017

By Web News 914

The National Executive Council of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors, NARD, has urged defaulting state governments to domesticate the Medical Residency Training Act 2017, in order to maintain industrial harmony with members across the country.

This was contained in a communique after a virtual emergency meeting launched from the Delta State Teaching Hospital in Oghara.

According to the statement signed by the President of the association, Dr. Uyilawa Okhuaihesuyi and the General Secretary, Dr. Jerry Isogun, the law when adopted would address some challenges such as forceful payment of bench fees in some Teaching Hospitals, undue exit of members and salary arrears in states like Ondo, Imo, Kaduna, Lagos, Abia and Ekiti.

The group also advocated the transfer of its members to the IPPIS platform to avoid accumulation of salary arrears and to ease the overall training process.

The Executive Council requested an upward review of the Hazard Allowance to Resident Doctors which currently stands at five thousand naira monthly, despite the health dangers associated with the profession.

They also demanded the immediate payment of all COVID-19 induced allowances by state governments as was done for colleagues in federal institutions.

On the 2021 Medical Residency Training Fund, the statement tasked the relevant agencies in the health ministry to complete the process of approval of the funds by the end of this month.

The NARD, however, commended President Mohammadu Buhari’s administration and some state governments for the numerous collaborations with the body, geared towards ensuring industrial harmony in the health sector.

Over two hundred and fifty present and past leaders of the Association of Resident Doctors in Nigeria participated in the virtual summit.

Oghenero Eghweree

Health

FG, Doctors Reach Agreement to End Industrial Action

By Web News 574

The Federal Government and the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors, NARD have reached an agreement on the demands by the association to end the ongoing strike by the doctors.

This is contained in a Memorandum of Understanding, MOU released to newsmen at the end of the conciliatory meeting in Abuja, summoned by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, to address the issues that led to the industrial action.

All the nine point demands by the association have been deliberated on one by one and understanding reached preparatory for immediate implementation.

The meeting agreed that the representative of the association is to consult the NARD Executive Council within the next 24 hours with the view to calling off the strike later today.

It will be recalled that the resident doctors have withdrawn their services after the expiration of ultimatum last Monday over failure of Govt to address their demands.

Their demands include the payment of owed arrears of the consequential adjustment of the new national minimum wage to members, permanent new rate of hazard allowance to health workers, domestication of the Residency Training Act by State Governments, provision of group life insurance and payment of death-in-service benefit to the next of kin.

Others are payment of outstanding 2014, 2015 and 20216 arrears to its members and provision of Personal Protective Equipment, PPE at hospitals and Covid 19 isolation centres.

FRCN Abuja

Health

Doctors Threaten to Return to Strike

By Web News 698

Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has issued the federal government a three-week ultimatum to deliver on its promise made to the association to suspend its strike action.

NARD had earlier embarked on a nationwide strike last month which lasted for one week but was suspended at the plea of the government to meet its demands.

At a press conference in Abuja, President of the association, Dr. Aliyu Sokomba disclosed that the federal government was yet to meet its demands as promised and would resume strike action if their demands were not met within three weeks. Some of the demands include adequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs).

This claim, therefore, questions the statements of some Chief Medical Directors (CMDs) of government hospitals at a Joint Meeting with the Ministers of Health and Federal Capital Territory (FCT), who said the government had provided adequate PPEs to hospitals.

Fielding questions from journalists on the subject, Dr. Sokomba said acclaimed PPEs by the CMDS does not get to the end-users who are the frontline health workers

Other demands by the association include the immediate removal of the CMD of the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Professor Henry Ugboma on allegations of fraud, administrative rascality, victimisation, and abuse of office.

Nancy Anika