Federal doctors say non-medical colleagues “envious, sabotaging healthcare delivery”

The Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta, branch of the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria has accused the non-medical staff of the institution of milking the institution for their selfish interest thereby causing a setback in the efforts to achieve healthcare for the general public.

The association made the allegation on Thursday while reacting to a statement credited to the non-medical staff alleging that it (MDCAN) had derailed from the primary objectives of making positive contributions to healthcare delivery.

The non-medical staff under the aegis of Joint Health Workers Staff Union had embarked on a weeklong strike, alleging that the MDCAN members were showing nonchalant attitude to work.

They claimed that members of the association had almost turned the hospital to a death zone.

In a statement by its acting chairman, Gabriel Awodeyin, and a member of the executive committee, Jabez‎ Akinipe, MDCAN said JOGESU was ignorant of the workings in the health institutions, stressing that its allegations were not true.

The association claimed that JOHESU was not only envious of its members but also trying to equate themselves with them, especially in the area of remuneration.

It said, “The leadership of JOHESU in Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta has continued to make every efforts to turn Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta, into human abattoir as they view the hospital primarily as a platform for money making and position seeking for selfish reasons. It is also to their displeasure that illicit transactions have been largely curtailed in the hospital in the last few years.”

The association accused JOHESU of quest for power, profit and position, and cared less about the welfare of patients who patronize the hospital.

It also accused the union of always embarking on strikes and violent protests, which it said were usually based on flimsy reasons and borne out of over-bloated ego and exaggerated sense of importance.

“The doctor becomes the milestone for their development and advancement,” MDCAN said.

“Whatever is due to the doctor must also be extended to them simply because all work in the hospital.

“They paint the doctor in bad light and at the same time seek equality and oftentimes superiority over the doctor.”

The association said the allegations by JOHESU against its members were designed to deceive the unsuspecting public in their bid to attract sympathy and support for their activities that continued to impact negatively on the health care delivery to the citizens.

It stated further, “They seek to deceive even the government of the day into believing that because we are in democracy, liberty has no bounds.

“They cannot differentiate between equity and equality. They unleash terror on the system based on their erroneous conviction that they deserve equal treatment with the doctor.

“But need it be said that we all have different training, job description and responsibilities? Where in the world are doctors paid same wages as every other health worker?

“Even among doctors the wages vary. Among the coalition called JOHESU, salaries differ from cadre to cadre. What is due to them is what they should ask for, not equal ‎salaries with doctors.”

The association also alleged that in the FMC, Abeokuta, the negative activities of JOHESU leadership had reached a feverish pitch and required urgent appropriate action.

It condemned JOHESU’s claim that patients now buy water packaged in sachets for bathing while there was no power supply in the hospital.

“These are laughable and only lend credence to the fact that these group of people actively sabotage the effort of the hospital management to provide water and electricity,” MDCAN said.

“These are easily verifiable as the hospital’s four 500KVA generators procured at different times within the past six years often breakdown need servicing all the time just in order to make money out of the system.

“It is instructive to note that doctors are not in charge of providing water and electricity, JOHESU members are in charge.

“But doctors and helpless patients bear the brunt of these acts of sabotage more than their members and they care less about it.”