Doctors kick against Lagos policy of casual employment

Nigerian doctors say government at all levels to put in place employment policies that value the medical profession.

Doctors in Nigeria said it is time the Lagos State Government puts a stop to its policy of employing medical doctors through a “casualisation of employment” programme.

Casualisation of employment describes a “situation of increasingly insecurity, pressure-driven employment, at the whim of employers whose demands may chop and change, forcing … workers to realign their lives, routines and other commitments in their struggles to get by” according to labour expert, Richy Leitch, in his book, “Passing the Buck: Corporate Restructuring and the Casualisation of Employment.”

The President of The Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, Osahon Enabulele, made the call on Thursday in Lagos in his remarks to the 53rd Annual General Conference/Delegates Meeting of the association said his call also goes to “government at all levels” urging them to put in place employment policies that give honor to the worth of work, and the value of the professional efforts of doctors.

Dr. Enabulele also called on all state governments, particularly Lagos, that are yet to implement the Consolidated Medical Salary structure ,CONMESS, to do so without further delay.

Last year, after an industrial action embarked by doctors in the state hospital system, the Lagos State Government employed about 373 medical doctors as locum doctors, to break the strike of the doctors.

A locum doctor, according to Wikipedia, “is a doctor who works in the place of the regular doctor when that doctor is absent, or when a hospital/practice is short-staffed.

“These professionals are still governed by their respective regulatory bodies, despite the transient nature of their position.”

The NMA president also reacted to what he called an ongoing war on professionalism and hierarchical order in the country’s public hospitals and its health sector, which he described as “Pull The Doctor Down Syndrome, PTDDS.”

Speaking on the theme of the conference tagged: ‘e-Health and its potentials for improving healthcare delivery in Nigeria,’ he said, the “NMA is very willing to collaborate and cooperate with the federal government through the Federal Ministry of Health, FMOH, and the Federal Ministry of Communication and Technology to urgently put in place an effective strategy for the implementation of e-health in Nigeria.”