PRESS RELEASE

RE: JOINT HEALTH SECTOR UNIONS STRIKE: NIGERIA SOCIETY OF PHYSIOTHERAPY (NSP) POSITION

The Nigeria Society of Physiotherapy (NSP), the umbrella professional body of Physiotherapists practicing in Nigeria since 1959, wishes to draw the attention of the Federal Govenrment to the State of our health institutions and the injustice in the system that paved way for the on-going strike action by the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) in the hospitals. None implementation of past agreements and court judgments and neglected welfare issues of health workers as against an anomaly where only Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) members are taken care of since 2014 and enjoying specialized packages in form of CONMESS while JOHESU demands are ignored played significant roles in the situation we found ourselves.

The existing situation where only NMA members receive special treatment from the Federal Government through Federal Ministry of Health is unacceptable to us and we want to use this avenue to appeal to the Federal Government to look into the current imbroglio and bring succour to the affected health workers by putting an end to the hegemonic situation once and for all for peace and harmony to reign in our hospitals.

The practice of Federal Government giving preferential treatment to NMA members working under the jurisdictions of Federal Ministry of Health over all other health professionals started in 1991 with the introduction of special Medical Salary Scale (MSS) and Medical Super Salary Scale (MSSS) for medical doctors alone without consideration for other professionals working in the health sector. The action of the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Health again in 2014 to adjust the CONMESS Salary of Medical Doctors alone and subsequent implementation and payments of ALL accrued arrears by the Federal Ministry of Health under this administration is a continuation of the act of carrying out government affairs in a manner which fails to recognise the diversity of different professionals working under the jurisdictions of Federal Ministry of Health by giving preferential treatment to Medical Doctors alone in the conduct of its activities. This is against the provision of Section 13 and 14 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.

RELATIVITY
It is necessary to state clearly that relativity has been granted to Medical Doctors when a fresh post NYSC Medical Doctor is allowed to enter the civil service on GL 12 while all other health professionals enter the civil service on GL 10 and below. The implication is that it will take years of practice for any other health care professional to attain GL12 where a fresh post NYSC medical doctor starts his/her career. It must be noted that salary of a fresh post NYSC Medical Doctor is higher than the salary of principal officers of all other health professionals. Relativity has also been granted to Medical Doctors after residency because they are allowed to enter the civil service on GL 14 which is equivalent to the position of Assistant Director for other health professionals. It takes other health professionals nothing less than 12-18 years in civil service to attain GL 14. Another relativity is tantamount to double relativity and this will not just be a bad precedence in health sector but every other sector in the federal civil service. International best practices make use of creation of entry level to determine relativity and not creation of new salary structure just in the name of relativity.

PARITY
What is parity? It simply means what you do to one side, you should do same to the other side of an equation. For instance if Government increases the salary of NMA members by X percentage, it should do same to the salary of the other workers in the same sector. This is also the principle of social justice. Therefore, JOHESU's demand for same percentage increase in salary on CONHESS as it was done for COMESS is right and justified.

Our demands are sincere and with the interest of Physiotherapy profession, other health professions in JOHESU and the Nigerian public as stated below.

JOHESU DEMANDS
1) Approve and Circularize Upward review of CONHESS Salary Structure

2) Payment of backlog of arrears as a result of CONHESS 10 Skipping.

3) Employment of more staff to strengthen the health sector

4) Release of Circulars for review of retirement age from 60 to 65 years

5) Implementation of NICN judgments in favour of JOHESU members.

RECOMMENDATIONS

To minimise or remove most of the challenges in the health sector, we suggest as follows:

1) The presidency should appoint a health professional of JOHESU extraction to pair with an NMA member for balancing, collaboration, functionality and development rather than appoint only NMA persons.

2) There should be only one salary structure in the health sector as it was under Harmonised Tertiary Institutions Salary Structure(HATTISS)

3) The entry point should be decided by job evaluation which has been achieved already.

4) Allowances should be a fixed percentage of the evaluated salary.

5) Appointment of CMDs and MDs should no longer be restricted to only one professional group but made open to other professionals in the sector who have the requisite qualifications and competence.

6) In the tertiary institutions, management positions should be diversified among the various health professionals.

7) There should be a department of Physiotherapy/Medical rehabilitation in the Federal Ministry of Health together with those of Nursing, Medical Laboratory Sciences and others.

All professions whose duration of training is Six years should enter the salary structure at the same level, GL 12, with General Medical Practitioners eg Doctor of Physiotherapy degree, Doctor of Optometry degree, Dentistry, Doctor of Pharmacy degree etc. Other University graduates with 5 years duration should enter on GL 10 while those with 4 years duration should enter on GL 9.

Once again, we make a passionate appeal to the Federal Government to step in and bring lasting solution and succour to health workers on this matter.

Long live Nigerian Society of Physiotherapy!
Long live Federal Republic of Nigeria!

Sgd

Dr Odusanya Oyinlola Felix, PT M.Sc., MNSP . National General Secretary

Dr Rufai Yusuf Ahmad, DPT, PhD, MNSP
National President

Hmmmm! I think the government should copy from USA since both Doctors and paramedics are towing the line of international best practice.

MY RESPONSE TO THE ENEMY OF JOHESU
1. What is the meaning of the word `medical´ when it is used to refer to a group of profesional?
2. Are Physicians (they are being called ``doctors´´ which is an honorary title. Only PhD holder is fit to be called a `doctor´) not Health Workers?
3. Who do they refer to as ``non-medical professionals´´? Nurses, Pharmacists, Medical Laboratory Scientists or Physiotherapists?
4. Who is fit to head health sector? Physicians have been heading health sector but it is still a shame that Nigeria Health Care Delivery is ranked one of the lowest.
5. Who should determine the wages or salary? Government or Physicians?
6. What profesional courses are needed to be qualified as a ``medical profesional´ that Nurses, Medical Lab Scientists, Physiotherapists and Pharmacists have not ben exposed to during their undergraduate and post-graduate programs?
7. Can any health professional work in isolation? If No, how should each be paid? Based on input/output or grandiose salary scale?
Physicians are not the head of other professional workers. We are all equal contributors to the health care delivery. To think otherwise is a Delusion of Grandiosis.
WE ARE YET TO GET IT RIGHT IN THIS COUNTRY AS CITIZENS. PUBLIC SHOULD BE WELL INFORMED THAT PHYSICIANS ARE NOT THE HEAD OF ANY OTHER MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL (NursesNurses, Medical Lab Scientists, Physiotherapists and Pharmacists). Their position is purely ARROGATORY.

physicians claim island of knowledge but I have seen where nurses, lab scientists, pharmacists or physiotherapists avert the death of patients out of doctors negligence or ignorance.

I have seen experienced Nurses teach jittery young doctors how to carry out certain procedures.

OKKO:
physicians claim island of knowledge but I have seen where nurses, lab scientists, pharmacists or physiotherapists avert the death of patients out of doctors negligence or ignorance.

I have seen experienced Nurses teach jittery young doctors how to carry out certain procedures.

Nurses, Maybe. The others don't have any clinical input, so u are lying

Dnaz:

Nurses, Maybe. The others don't have any clinical input, so u are lying

Bros, your statement is simply lies and deceptive to say the least.

Healthcare delivery is a team work. Physician is just a member while physiotherapist, pharmacist, lab scientists, radiographer make clinical input for the overall health improvement of the patients. A physiotherapist assess, diagnose, plan a treatment and execute the plan and discharge. so what are you stammering

Thanks18:

Bros, your statement is simply lies and deceptive to say the least.

Healthcare delivery is a team work. Physician is just a member while physiotherapist, pharmacist, lab scientists, radiographer make clinical input for the overall health improvement of the patients. A physiotherapist assess, diagnose, plan a treatment and execute the plan and discharge. so what are you stammering

Don't mind the olodo!

He who doesn't know should ask Google, if you fail to learn, then you can remain an olodo.

OKKO:
physicians claim island of knowledge but I have seen where nurses, lab scientists, pharmacists or physiotherapists avert the death of patients out of doctors negligence or ignorance.

I have seen experienced Nurses teach jittery young doctors how to carry out certain procedures.

i have also seen young doctors teach nurses sone things that is a stupid statement

funmisticqueen:
i have also seen young doctors teach nurses sone things that is a stupid statement

Did you actually read and understood the submission made by him? some Nigerian Physician claimed to know all things which is arrogant and pomposity to say the least. No man is an island. Healthcare is a team work. Every member of the team contributes his/her skills and experience so that the patient benefit greatly. But reverse is the case when some people thinks they are lords and big boss in quote, this brings rivalry and unhealthy competition among the team; thus the patient suffered at the end.

Dnaz:

Nurses, Maybe. The others don't have any clinical input, so u are lying

do you even have any idea of who a physiotherapist is?

Thanks18:


Did you actually read and understood the submission made by him? some Nigerian Physician claimed to know all things which is arrogant and pomposity to say the least. No man is an island. Healthcare is a team work. Every member of the team contributes his/her skills and experience so that the patient benefit greatly. But reverse is the case when some people thinks they are lords and big boss in quote, this brings rivalry and unhealthy competition among the team; thus the patient suffered at the end.

this is obvious, but it is not the point, especially the way he put it

Doctors aren't saying johesu shouldn't get a pay raise. They want everyone 's pay to rise.
If the johesu pay rises and the doctors pay doest rise, its unfair for the doctors.

That's because the current disparity is not an imaginary unbelievable sum of money, it's money carefully calculated using numbers of work hours, call duty allowance, hazard fee, and other little bonuses.
How many pharmacists died during Ebola?
Nurses and doctors that are at more risk are being paid equally for the hazard they are exposed to. Is this right?
Doctors work 8-4 everyday. And take calls sometimes every other day. Weekends. Etc
So a nurse that works shifts wants her salary increased just like that without increasing work hours. If you increase a nurse's salary, let's say she works 6hours daily and she's on 7 shifts per week. That's 42 hours per week.
And a doctor works 10hours daily (6am-4pm) that's 50hours compulsorily. And takes two weekdays calls (24hours) and a weekend call Friday to Monday (72 hours). 62+72 hours. 134 hours per week.

In Nigeria, resident doctors work between 120 and 160 hours per week.
While a nurse on an 8 hours shift works 8*7= 56hours weekly.
If you pay the nurse 80k, and pay the doctor 200k, the nurse is still earning a better pay per hour.
This is not withstanding the rigors of training and higher responsibility and specialization of the doctor over the nurse.

What about pharmacist?
Their pay about that of nurses is well calculated too. And when you look at it per hour and training involved, it's not too different.they earn little or nothing above nurses.

So whenever the issue of salary comes on, the disparity shouldn't be the issue. Let all pays be raised.
Or they should bring out a pay pattern that's according to hours of input, training, teaching, and work done.

You want to pay a surgeon like a pharmacist? Why?

Since the current health workers strike in Nigeria, all the stake holders has been citing international best practices. The doctors under NMA and all other health workers under JOHESU has been at log ahead.
Both groups has been dishing out propaganda to the media. The doctors has claimed that they control all other departments and their services are at the doctors' beck and call, but JOHESU insists that the assumption is wrong. Doctors lack training and competence in some of these areas e.g physiotherapy/
medical rehabilitation. They are doctors too, they assess, treat, rehabilitate and discharge with all diagnostic imaging and lab tests privileges. Optometrists too are doctors both by operations and designation, they have spent 6yrs in medical school yet NMA said they are just support staff.
Nonetheless, JOHESU Leadership has come out to accuse the NMA doctors of ignorance, greediness and myopic thinking. Dr. Adewole the current Minister for Health has been proven wrong in regard to international best practices.
There could be bias from the Ministers. Today, both the minister of labour, senior and junior ministers of health are NMA doctors so the JOHESU strike that has paralyzed the health sector is rather a thing of politics for the ministers. You often see them on TV interviews double speaking. There is no gainsaying that NMA has colonized and made their birth right the offices of:
a) minister for health
b) minister of state for health
c) CMDs of all secondary and tertiary hospitals
d) Deputy CMDs
e) CMACs
f) directors of 90% of all parastaltas and health related agencies
g) the list is endless
NMA said the reason for coveting these offices is because other health workers are not "medically qualified" even though they all finished from the same college of medicine; took same or similar causes together or as separate departments.
Let's look at the so called international best practices. Lets look at the ministers of health of following countries:
1. France minister of health
Morisol Touraine.
She is not a degree holder. Studied At Ecole Normale Supereure and specialized in Economics and social issues.
2. Germany minister of health
Jens Spahn.
Studied Political science and Law at University of Hagen.
3. Saudi Arabia minister of health.
Dr. Tawfiq Al Ravish.
Obtain bachelor degree in Financial management and Mathematics, then 2 masters in computer science and information science.
4. Israel minister of health.
Yaakov Litzman.
Studied Torah and his first job was principal of Yaakov Girls school and then join politics.
5. Spain minister of health, social, security and Equality.
Dolors Montserrat.
A Lawyer and politician. She specialized in Real Estate and Environmental Law.
6. India minister of health
Jagat Prakash Nadda.
He a graduate of Law at Himachal Prakash.
7. Canada minister of health
Genette Petitpas Taylor.
She has bachelor degree in Social work.
Non of the above ministers study medicine and they are health ministers of their countries. Yet Isaac Adewole and NMA are saying our ministry of health institutions most be headed by medical doctors, ie. the international best practice.
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