Striking workers of the Federal Medical Centre Owerri have reacted to the interview with the Medical Director, Dr. Mrs. Angela Uwakwem, as published in The Leader of Sunday June 21, 2015.
The three unions of the Federal Medical Centre which include, Nigeria Union of Allied Health Professionals (NUAP), Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN) and National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNW), were critical about her views concerning every aspect of her story which tried to portray her innocence and gain public sympathy.
The Unions claimed that the Public Private Partnership she re-invokes as the major grouse of the agitating workers did not follow due process and standard procedure prior to its introduction.
According to them, the Board nullified the PPP contraption in FMC Owerri on 15th May 2015 because the timing was wrong and inappropriate.
The Unions posited that the Pharmacy Department has long been computerized via a world certified software package based in USA for drug labelling, error detection, drug interaction and adverse drug reactions elimination. They alleged that the Pharmacy department and Laboratory services, which she planned for “privatization generate 62% of the internally generated revenue every year.”
They further claimed that the ”adverts for bidding is never advertised in any national daily thus denying the Union and stake holders the identities of companies or establishment handling projects.”
The Unions also said that, ”No order for any drug purchase is made without the approval of the MD even when the head of department of pharmacy has powers to that effect, adding that the hospital doesn’t buy drugs with cash rather it buys in credit and pays when able.
‘’The Pharmacy and laboratory departments perform beyond excellence, and their services have always been lauded,” the striking workers noted.
The Pharmacy department purchased drugs in a quarter system (Every 4 months) and the department has never stocked drugs worth over 30 million naira.
The House Unions, said their members are high profile intellectuals and very principled people and so nobody could have incited them to embark on the ongoing strike.
”If Federal Ministry of Health has not released the 2013 promotion arrears, how come six hospitals have gotten theirs, even when FMC Owerri, the only A plus FMC in Nigeria, is yet to be paid? If the hospital has over N242 million in her personnel account last year what now prevented her from paying the said arrears?”
They claimed that the money she used for the purchase of CT scan was the personnel’s money which she should have used for payment of the arrears, saying that Financial regulations made it clear that personnel money cannot be used or transferred for capital projects.
“FMC workers want true justice and the step to true justice has been recommended by the Board of Management of FMC Owerri, which represents the Federal Government. The question now is what is preventing the Federal Ministry of Health from implementing the decision of the Board of FMC?”