Unrest: Health workers tasks FG on uniform guideline for appointment of hospital CMDs
BY Awayi Kuje
Appointment
Keffi (Nasarawa State), June 19, 2019 (NAN) The Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals (NUAHP) has urged the Federal Government to adopt uniform guideline for the appointment of Chief Medical Directors (CMDs) of hospitals.
Dr Ogbonna Obinna, the National President of the association, made the appeal on Wednesday during the association’s 7th Quadrennial National delegate’s conference in Keffi, Nasarawa State.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the conference has its theme as: “Building A Strong Health Team for Effective Service Delivery’’, with a sub-theme on “The Role of Traditional Rulers in Resolving Labour Matters’’.
Obinna said that this was necessary in the interest of peace and overall development of the health sector.
He said that if this was done by the government, the appointment of CMDs would be open to all qualified and competent individuals irrespective of their professional callings.
“In order to stem the tide of frequent industrial unrest in the sector, I request the government to revisit the recommendation of the Abdullahi Bello Gusau Committee on harmonious work relationship of health professionals.
“The recommendation was submitted in August 2010 among other similar Committee’s recommendations.
“I further request that the government should release a uniform guideline for the appointment of Chief Medical Directors and Chairman Medical Advisory Committee which shall no longer be skewed to favour a particular professional group.
“With this appointment will be open to all qualified and competent individuals irrespective of their professional callings.
“Likewise, the various hospitals Management Boards at the State and Federal levels should be reconstituted fairly in a way that no particular professional group should have domineering representation over others,’’ he said.
Obinna listed some of his achievements to include establishment of additional unit branches of the association, call duty relativity allowance for deserving members, acquisition of landed property for the building of its national secretariat in Abuja, among others.
He restated the association’s continued commitment to initiate policies and programmes that would have direct bearing on the lives of its members and other Nigerians.
Earlier, Mr Kamal Ibrahim, the Chairman, NUAHP, Federal Medical Centre, Keffi Unit branch, said that the themes of the conference were cautiously selected.
“The choice of these themes was due to the fact that our service delivery to patients continued to decline day by day due to some avoidable factors.
“Prominent among them is widespread lack of desire for health team work among the healthcare professionals across most health institutions in Nigeria.
“These topics were chosen to demonstrate our sincere commitment to work with other healthcare professionals for the purpose of achieving desired effective service delivery in our hospitals,’’ he said.
NAN reports that the conference was attended by Dr Yahaya Adamu, the Medical Director, FMC, Keffi; Sen. Abdullahi Adamu, and Dr Shehu Yamusa, the Emir of Keffi, among other dignitaries. (NAN)
AKW/DE/MST
Edited by Dorcas Jonah/Muhammad Suleiman Tola