THE rot in Nigeria’s health care delivery system has once again been brought to the fore as doctors embark on yet another strike that has crippled public health care services nationwide. As some patients die and others writhe in agony, with no physicians to attend to them, doctors and government officials cannot reach an agreement on how to quickly restore services to public health institutions. Both should reach for their consciences — if they still have any — and restart the hospitals to stop the human misery.

There are no saints in this grim saga. Successive governments have made a mess of health services — under-funding and under-equipping hospitals, entrenching corruption and inking agreements with doctors and other professionals that they thereafter fail to honour. Some doctors, on their part, have run public health institutions with glaring inefficiency, antagonized other health workers thereby polarizing the system, and short-changed the public by simultaneously engaging in private practice.

When public sector doctors began a “total and indefinite” nationwide strike on Tuesday, all these longstanding combustible elements were in play. Among their 24-point demands were the usual requests for better remuneration and implementation of agreements reached between the Nigerian Medical Association and its affiliates, and the Federal Government. The terms include upgrades of public health facilities, passage of the National Health Bill and universal coverage under the National Health Insurance Scheme. The doctors said their action was to “save the system from anarchy.”

While these sound lofty and there can be no excuse for the government’s failure to honour or renegotiate agreements, the sad reality is that Nigerian doctors have over-used and abused the strike weapon. As we have argued in the past, a physician belongs to a special class of professionals; we believe the primary job of a doctor is to save lives and manage the sick.

Just as journalists constitute the Fourth Estate of the Realm and soldiers pledge their very lives to defend the Commonwealth, we believe that doctors too have a higher calling that should make them embarrassed to be found staging more work stoppages than railway unionists, petrol tanker drivers or daily paid workers.

While the mandatory Hippocratic oath enjoins doctors to save lives, patients die and suffer disabilities and pain when doctors stop work. The strikes have been just too many and their impact, dreadful. The latest was preceded by a three-day “warning strike.” Numerous strikes since year 2000 have led to numerous deaths, while those mostly hit are the low income earners. In a country where 61 per cent of the population are poor, where only 35 per cent have access to adequate sanitation, and life expectancy is only 54 years, the frequent recourse to strikes is cruel and self-centred.

Doctors are making some untenable demands. Their earlier insistence on only doctors being made minister is unreasonable. It is a political-cum-administrative post and other countries don’t subscribe to this. Their opposition to health professionals rising to directorship in public hospitals is also odious.

Demands such as denying other professionals the title of consultants, should be resolved by the government only in the light of best practices worldwide and in the public interest. Doctors have the right to bargain for rewards, but it is unacceptable to oppose the right of others to receive what an employer is ready to offer them.

If doctors from other countries are in Nigeria helping in the terror-torn North; and in Zamfara State where lead poisoning has killed hundreds of children; combating malaria and polio elsewhere, and are mapping strategies to prevent the spread of the deadly Ebola virus, this time, therefore, is not when our own doctors should cripple hospitals with strikes!

The primary blame for the mess of course lies with our corrupt, clueless and fickle government that has failed to prioritize health care delivery and implement sensible policies to revamp the rickety system. Even its own National Strategic Health Development Plan 2010-2015 has gone nowhere. Only N264.46 billion was earmarked for health in the 2014 federal budget of N4.69 trillion, even less than the N279.53 billion or 5.7 per cent earmarked from the N4.92 trillion 2013 budget.

Worse, about 80 per cent of this is spent on recurrent items, leaving only 20 per cent for infrastructure in a system that has 20 ill-equipped teaching hospitals, 22 Federal Medical Centres and 13 specialist hospitals across the country. The World Health Organisation faulted the 4.6 per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product contributed by the health sector in 2011 as incapable of reversing the sorry state of health services in the country. The NMA claimed in 2012 that 5,000 Nigerians travelled abroad each month (mostly to India) for medical treatment, costing the country $500 million annually, with India alone raking in $260 million of this. Like the centre, most of the 36 states also fail to adequately fund health, while the governors, legislators and contractors gorge on the treasury.

This trend is unsustainable as the cost in death and human misery is too high. The Minister of Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu, needs to demonstrate more commitment and urgency in tackling the terrible state of health care services. He and President Goodluck Jonathan, who, characteristically, has remained aloof while the populace groans in misery, need all their persuasive skills to bring the recalcitrant doctors and all health professionals, state governors and other stakeholders to the roundtable to break the deadlock.

The government should stop the cavalier attitude of reneging on agreements. There should be an emergency programme to bring back many of the estimated 15,000 Nigerian doctors practicing abroad to join the 25,000 at home. With a doctor-to-patient ratio of 1: 6,400 and only about 3,000 doctors produced locally each year, efforts should be made to reach the WHO standard of 1: 600.

In the meantime, the NMA should call off this strike and pursue the path of dialogue.




http://www.punchng.com/editorial/doctors-strike-let-sanity-prevail/

No be small o.

MEANWHILE FTC
Seun forward me my prize ASAP or else.....

Hmmm

What do you expect...Strike is the only thing the govt understands.

I wonder when they will realize this-always jeopardizing the lives of innocent citizens.

oya nao

Make I Book space first......

Can someone translate the op post to me?? In Dutch

.

I will talk to them.

Very non biased writeup..

The. Only reason all healthprofessional went to school is to offer serviceS to the patient and help alleviate their condition.

Why abandon ur sole purpose of pratice

Biko come back we miss you people
Hope una head don reseT now

Abegi who dey use d lives of the masses to plat ping pong

The docs that fight for their rights or the govt that refused to provide the neccesary n' adequate infracstucture n' facilities for better practices.

Where iam,a room apartment is bigger than the so called hosibitu and yet tis a LG...

Yes!..when it's in their interest ONLY

.

I don't know why govt always want strike to be carried out before they do the needful. Shame on this govt

The NMA's call for improved infrastructures in hospitals is laudable.

But make I ask oh. Shey these hospitals dey make money from their services. Them no fit ask for power to use the money they generate to put the hospitals in order? After all, private hospitals wey get better infrastructures na where the money come from?

Shebi na who wear the agbada knw say him tie the trouser for him belle . . . The doctors have had enough of this incompetent government. Striking may not be the best option but it seem effective

It's obvious the writer is biased. STRIKE IS THE ONLY LANGUAGE THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT UNDERSTANDS. At least, the writer accepts that Government is notorious for not honoring agreements. So, how will one get them to listen? People always quote the Hippocratic oath against Doctors but I tell you that if when that oath was written, that Drs knew that their wages will be owed, that the privileges accorded to only Dr then will later be accorded to other non -Drsby a visionless govt like ours, then there must have been a provisor or an escape clause. ASUU was on strike for 6 months in order to get the govt to listen & no one is talking about it. Drs go on strike after ultimatums, warning strike etc & people are blaming Drs. Maybe the writer should tell us how to get the govt to listen; maybe by witchcraft. I pity the public bc they don't understand the gravity of the situation, bc if they do, they should rise up against the govt. This act of govt is making merit pave way for mediocrity & remember that they don't seek healthcare inside Nigeria. So if the health sector is filled with titled mediocres, I wonder who suffers. Most commenters on this strike Though not all HATE Drs & that is why you will see many insensitive comments against Drs. Remember Drs have families, have responsibilities like every other Nigerian living in this harsh environment.

I rest my case

Chimax15: Can someone translate the op post to me?? In Dutch

I'll if only you can translate mine to dutch

Nupeng strike

doctors strike

pengassan strike

assu strike

asup strike

police strike

nut strike

nurtw

okada, keke, nuj.

trully why all des strike to me selfish interest

Naija doctors both public n private have consistently and duly playedf their roll in ensuring that the nigerian project/ state deteriorate into a state of anarchy, left for me, the govt shud put into actions their demands but not after relieving dem all of their jobs and employing fresh graduates and consultants.

how ever, the govt can employ native doctors (doctor spirit n adebowale cum to mind) till d medical doctors are tired of their strike

Hmmmm

Yoney007: What do you expect...Strike is the only thing the govt understands.

That's no excuse. This is a matter of DEATH & LIFE we are talking about here. A doctor should be a person who wants to save lives @ all cause.Unfortunately it is different in Nigeria.. These days when I hear the word Nigerian doctors the first thought that comes in mind is Nigerian Politicians.. I had a lot of friends studying Medicine while I was still in Uni and 99% of them decided to Read medicine because of the Money involved not because they give a shvt about human lifes
.
This is Y ppl die a lot in hospitals these days because Doctors don't put out all they can give y trying to save patients.
I think the only way to seed out the weed in both the political and health sector is actually by reducing (Not increasing) drastically the amount earn by these ppl.Then the ppl who really care will stay on and fight for their course y the mediocres will search for the next highest-earning sector.

Akadile: It's obvious the writer is biased. STRIKE IS THE ONLY LANGUAGE THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT UNDERSTANDS. At least, the writer accepts that Government is notorious for not honoring agreements. So, how will one get them to listen? People always quote the Hippocratic oath against Doctors but I tell you that if when that oath was written, that Drs knew that their wages will be owed, that the privileges accorded to only Dr then will later be accorded to other non -Drsby a visionless govt like ours, then there must have been a provisor or an escape clause. ASUU was on strike for 6 months in order to get the govt to listen & no one is talking about it. Drs go on strike after ultimatums, warning strike etc & people are blaming Drs. Maybe the writer should tell us how to get the govt to listen; maybe by witchcraft. I pity the public bc they don't understand the gravity of the situation, bc if they do, they should rise up against the govt. This act of govt is making merit pave way for mediocrity & remember that they don't seek healthcare inside Nigeria. So if the health sector is filled with titled mediocres, I wonder who suffers. Most commenters on this strike Though not all HATE Drs & that is why you will see many insensitive comments against Drs. Remember Drs have families, have responsibilities like every other Nigerian living in this harsh environment.

I rest my case

well said.
The populace always hides under d Hippocratic oath when agonizing d actions of d doctors.
DO NO HARM is d first oath. What people want is dt doctors sudnt harm d masses but don't care if they harm themselves.
Surrendering d leadership role in d health sector to other health care workers who really re supporting staff is an non-forgivable harm to d d profession itself nd history will always remember d administration dt dashes it out..

If Nigerian Doctors are the origin of these sectors, the knownledge wouldn't be accessible. Their request are justifiable but lacks human feeling.

So because docs are meant to save lives now...make dem dey practice silly medicine.....abeg, whether una like it or not....strike will never be supported..buh ask d govt for allowin it. meanwhile, I was oppurtuned to hear a story once, a doc was seeing patients in a clinic..., the doc den collapsed...apparently had health issues too...the next the d patients( not all) said was..."Shebi dis doc for see us answer us b4 he collapse"....so u see, na naija we dey...all man for himself...dont blame docs abeg

Wickedness in NmA,
Wickedness in Government.
Masses suffering.

On 1 side they are People parking theirs bags and going to work for the UN earning just enough to get by - The Doctors who really care.
On the other hand they are people shutting down hospitals while Hundreds die everyday due to their insensitivity just because a "government" that don't care refuse to give in to their demands. The Nigerian doctors
Kudos to the Nigerian doctors, from my viewpoint I can see they are way ahead of The Government in the "I-Dont-Give-A-Shvt" race.

ebosse:
That's no excuse. This is a matter of DEATH & LIFE we are talking about here. A doctor should be a person who wants to save lives @ all cause.Unfortunately it is different in Nigeria.. These days when I hear the word Nigerian doctors the first thought that comes in mind is Nigerian Politicians.. I had a lot of friends studying Medicine while I was still in Uni and 99% of them decided to Read medicine because of the Money involved not because they give a shvt about human lifes
.
This is Y ppl die a lot in hospitals these days because Doctors don't put out all they can give y trying to save patients.
I think the only way to seed out the weed in both the political and health sector is actually by reducing (Not increasing) drastically the amount earn by these ppl.Then the ppl who really care will stay on and fight for their course y the mediocres will search for the next highest-earning sector.

U say life and death...naija police no dey deal with life and death...dem soldiers no be life and death...? it's more like a Nigerian issue....i feel for the docs sha....

tunesoft:
U say life and death...naija police no dey deal with life and death...dem soldiers no be life and death...? it's more like a Nigerian issue....i feel for the docs sha....

Exactly! Do you ever see soldiers going on strike Nigerian Doctors strike every year!!!!

whats this one saying here...?

slimpoppa: No be small o.

MEANWHILE FTC
Seun forward me my prize ASAP or else.....

so you cant read? smh

Chimax15: Can someone translate the op post to me?? In Dutch