Doctor’s Protest: We will follow due process in recruitment – FTHL

The Management of the Federal Teaching Hospital Lokoja, FTHL, said it volition not circumvent immoderate processes successful the recruitment of caller doctors and different unit successful the hospital.

Addressing a property league successful Lokoja connected Friday, the Chairman Medical Advisory Committee Federal Teaching Hospital Lokoja, Dr Ebune Ojochide, portion reacting to the protestation by the Association of Resident Doctors, (ARD) implicit alleged shortage of manpower, obnoxious policies, and galore much said the protesters were being economical with the truth.

Dr Ojochide explained that the infirmary absorption cannot single-handedly instrumentality the determination to employment caller doctors and different unit without support from the Federal Government.

He accused the protesting doctors of failing to officially prosecute with the infirmary absorption to explicit their grievances.

Explaining further, Dr Ojochide said, “We person a superior shortage of manpower successful the wellness assemblage crossed the state conscionable due to the fact that of the japa syndrome. Even arsenic we speak, much wellness workers are resigning successful Nigeria. It’s not conscionable present astatine the FTHL. However, determination is an administrative process that is required for the recruitment and replacement of workers.

“So, the Federal Government has enactment connected hold, recruitment of workers including the wellness sector. Recently, the Government considered giving a waiver to the bottleneck concerning recruitment. That is the basal situation crossed the nation. An instauration similar FTHL cannot enlistee unit without support and fiscal backing which we person not been given.

“There is simply a process. That is what we person explained to nonmigratory doctors. The administrative process and support person to beryllium completed with the applicable agencies and the mandate fixed with the currency backing to recruit.

” Without that, if you recruit, it volition beryllium illegal, null and void, and determination volition beryllium nary wealth to wage the staff. In the interim, locum aesculapian unit were engaged arsenic a impermanent measurement to capable successful immoderate of the gaps. Let it beryllium connected grounds that locum is not casualization. They are impermanent and not imperishable staff. In my unit, we are abbreviated of staff. I americium the lone 1 retired of 3 surgeons.

” We can’t spend to let the services to illness due to the fact that doctors, nurses and different aesculapian unit are leaving the country. We indispensable bash each that we tin wrong the disposable options and resources to support the strategy going. That is the reply to what they are protesting. I situation journalists to marque their findings that it is not lone FTHL that has a shortage of manpower successful Nigeria, it is everywhere. There is an ongoing process of recruiting caller unit successful FTHL but support has not been fixed by the government”.

According to him, the contented of the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System, (GIFNIS) raised by the aggrieved doctors for its members to beryllium moved to the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) can’t stand, adding that, the Government indispensable o.k. earlier the absorption tin instrumentality specified decision.

On the contented of telephone meals raised by the protesters, Dr Ojochide accused the doctors of illegally terminating the declaration of a nutrient vendor without pursuing owed processes.

“Core repast is simply a non-financial inducement fixed by the absorption of the infirmary to promote unit erstwhile they are connected duty. Especially telephone duty. Many institutions bash it portion others bash not. Let the satellite cognize that a telephone repast is simply a privilege and not a right. Meal allowance has been paid successful our consolidated salary. The absorption of the infirmary bears the fiscal load of the meals served to the doctors.

“ARD were the 1 that recommended the existent nutrient vendor successful 2019. Now, if idiosyncratic has served you for implicit 5 years, courtesy demands that you volition subordinate with that idiosyncratic successful a quality face. Some members of the ARD had unofficially complained astir the telephone repast being served by the existent vendor. We whitethorn recognize that determination are galore factors which could beryllium inflation.

” They didn’t subordinate with america officially. All we got successful a communique was that they were going to terminate the declaration of the existent vendor and regenerate her with another. How volition you terminate the declaration of a idiosyncratic you didn’t prosecute successful the archetypal place?

” This is the crushed the idiosyncratic stops supplying nutrient to them. Since then, cipher is supplying them with meals. Resident doctors are not the lone relation benefitting from halfway meals successful FTHL. Pharmacists and nurses are besides benefiting from it.

“Residents doctors terminated the proviso of halfway nutrient by their ain actions and not the absorption of FTHL.This is the aforesaid mode they acted illegally by declaring 72 72-hour onslaught immoderate months backmost without pursuing owed process. They had already gone connected onslaught earlier communicating to america that this was the crushed they wanted to down their tools. They don’t travel owed process which is unacceptable”.

He, however, cleared the aerial implicit the beingness of information unit erstwhile the doctors were protesting connected Friday morning.

“The absorption was shocked to spot immoderate doctors protesting yesterday and contiguous astatine the infirmary premises without immoderate authoritative connection to the due authority.

“We had earlier thought it was immoderate hoodlums who were protesting successful the infirmary due to the fact that they didn’t pass us. The information of unit and our patients is precise important to us. We don’t privation anybody to hijack the protest. That is wherefore we invited information agencies to travel and support instrumentality and order. As you would observe, the information bureau did not halt them from protesting”.

Dr Ojochide maintained that the absorption remains committed to providing prime wellness services to Nigerians.