The Nasarawa State Council of Nigeria Medical Association, NMA has given Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State 21-days ultimatum to address welfare issues concerning their members.
NMA Chairman in the state, Dr. Peter Attah, stated this while briefing journalists in Lafia, Nasarawa State capital.
He explained that the ultimatum starts on Tuesday, June 13 and ends July 3.
He threatened that they would withdraw thier services if the government fail to meet their demands by the expiration of the ultimatum.
He listed some of the problems to includes; non-implementation of promotions for Doctors and Annual Salary increment for over nine years, non-implementation of N30, 000 minimum wage and consequential adjustments.
Others are; non-implementation of the reviewed Hazard allowance circular and the accrued 17 Months arrears, High burden of Taxation and inadequate manpower and overwork load.
He said 25 doctors who were employed in 2014 at Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital (DASH) Lafia and the Hospital Management Board were not promoted for nine years now.
The NMA Chairman stated that the association had visited the governor on January 17, 2023 and tabled the issues for his consideration, but wandered why nothing was done to address them.
According to him, the association had given the state government enough time to address their demands but the government has been insensitive to their plight.
The Chairman explained that the association have shown understanding with the government towards ensuring industrial harmony, but the government has failed to reciprocate the gesture.
Dr Attah further said that 27 Medical Doctors have left the services of the state in the last one month due to poor welfare package.
“20 Doctors resigned from DASH and seven from the Hospital Management Board in the last three weeks,” he said.
He explained that the shortage of doctors is putting so much pressure on the few once that have decided to stay, to the extend that doctors now preferred to work in rural areas than facilities in town.
He said the standard of World Health Organization is that one doctor is expected to attend to about 600 people, but the ratio in Nasarawa State is one doctor to more than 20, 000 people.
Dr Attah advised that it is better to improve the welfare of doctors to curtail brain drain than to replace and they still leave after some time.
The NMA Chairman suggested an upward review of hazard allowance, call-duty allowance, reducing tax, and not taxing the allowances as well as giving doctors vehicles and housing loans as part of measures to curtail the brain drain in the state.
Confidence Okwuchi
