There is an ill wind blowing in the Nigerian Health sector, it is this destructive battle for supremacy that has meant that healthcare professionals in Nigeria can not work as a team. But , are instead fighting and preventing the prompt and appropriate care of patients in the hospitals.

I have just read a letter purportedly from the NMA that really disappoints me and makes me wonder when Nigerian doctors will recognize that Nigerians have already lost faith in the Nigerian healthcare sector and have resorted to India et al for their healthcare. Even those who can not afford India make the Herbal medicine practitioners their first point of call.

This weekend is a really busy one for me, therefore I will copy and paste a response to one malicious letter by a Dr Paul John. God willing I will have more time to talk on the Nigerian healthcare sector in the coming week.

For all those who do not want peace and progress in the Nigerian healthcare sector; this is your last warning- REPENT before the people begin to call down Holy Ghost fire on you! Enough is Enough

Here is the response by Mrs Elechi. I do not know the Dr Paul John but given the fact that the NMA claims they are using his letter as a template, then I guess Mrs Elechi's response has also become a response to the NMA. Nigeria will survive ...

Dear Dr Paul John,

I have, over time, read your comments on JOHESU, NMA and the Nigerian health sector in general. While I commend your zeal in defending and projecting the image of your profession, I must not also fail to state that at every point in time you have advanced the same reasoning. This, to an educated mind, means that your knowledge of the health sector is rather shallow. More so, you are very biased in your analysis, which is a mark of mediocrity, and not professionalism as you claim.

I have reached the conclusion that you need to be properly tutored on matters concerning the health sector in Nigerian. Let me start the lecture by enlightening your perhaps confused mind on what a profession is. While I will oblige you the privilege of searching your dictionary for the definition of the same, I would like to use this medium to educate you on the characteristic features of any profession, viz,

1. There must be a Regulatory/Licensing Agency. You know we have a good number of them regulating each profession, including Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria(MLSCN), Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, Pharmacist Council of Nigeria(PCN), Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria(MDCN), Radiographers Registration Board of Nigeria, etc.

2. There must be a national professional Association. Some of them in Nigeria include Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives, Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria(AMLSN), Nigeria Dental Association, etc

3. There must be a body of rules or Ethics to guide practitioners.

4. There must be areas of specialty in the profession.

5. The profession must have a body of knowledge unique to its practice.

You may wish to convince Nigerians of the lack of the above among the different health professions in Nigeria. Otherwise,it will be wise for you to accept the fact that there are so many professions in the health sector, including Medical Laboratory Science, Pharmacy, Optometry, Physiotherapy, Radiography, Nursing, Dentistry, Medicine&Surgery, Dietetics&Nutrition, and so on. If this is so, then you erred in your comparison of the Ministry of Health to the Ministry of Justice. While the Ministry of Justice has just one set of professionals( Lawyers) doing the work of delivering justice ( Accountants, Engineers, Architects, etc, in this Ministry do not contribute to court processes or any legal requirement for client care), the Ministry of Health cannot boast of just one set of professionals who can do the work of patient care. Doctors alone cannot deliver healthcare; it is a team work.I hope this has helped to clear your confusion.

You also stated that “the Act establishing tertiary hospitals made it clear that the Chief Medical Director or Medical Director must be a Fellow of either the National PostGraduate Medical College or the West African College of Surgeons/Physicians”. It is an offence in law to twist the provisions of an Act of Parliament the way you did. This is why you have twisted the provisions in Section 1(2)(e) of Medical and Dental Practitioners Act, which states that the Board is to “regulate clinical laboratory practical in the area of pathology”. Over time you have interpreted it to say “practice”in stead of “practical”. This is an offence in law.

For the benefit of better understanding, Section 5(2) of Teaching Hospital Act U15 LFN, 2004 ( or Decree 10 of 1985), the very Act you twisted, provides that “the Chief Medical Director shall be (a) be a person who is medically qualified and registered as such for a period of not less than twelve years, and has considerable administrative experience in matters of health and holds a postgraduate medical qualification obtained not less than five years prior to the appointment as Chief Medical Director”. Notice that no mention was made of your colleges. Furthermore, the Act itself did not define what it meant by being “medically qualified”. It is therefore clear that, pending judicial pronouncement, the meaning to be ascribed to this provision, should be that the post of CMD is an administrative position, not clinical, which should be occupied by a health professional that has a postgraduate qualification. Evidences abound in advanced countries where non-doctors are CEOs of hospitals or Ministers of Health, and their health systems are working perfectly well, that Nigerians run to them for healthcare. Even the hospital where you work is a classical case of mismanagement of our health system. Does it not bother you that your type of health professionals, have continuously mismanaged our hospitals? All you care is to occupy a position. It is in deed shameful.

You rightly said that our laws are both written and rigid. If so, why twist it? I will also oblige you the privilege of checking your dictionary for the meaning of the term “consultant”. There is a judgement from the National Industrial Court (NIC), which restored consultancy status to other health professionals. While you and your colleagues have bluntly refused to obey this judgement you have quickly obtained skipping of a salary grade level as contained in that judgement. While the former does not appeal to you, the latter has become useful to you. This is a clear case of greed and injustice, the very problem bedevilling our health sector and orchestrated by your type.

I would advice you to channel your energy into championing for a better health system, where justice, equity and professionalism shall reign, and in which patient care is our ultimate goal in stead of churning out these publications that are more fallacious than factual. Things won’t remain the way they are now; changes would occur. I hope you are ready for that change.

Meanwhile, you can tell us what you think about the recent NIC judgements in cases between Medical Laboratory Scientists and Pathologists.

Elechi


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