I have often said you cannot pay a doctor, indeed any health professional for what they do. What you can do is ensure that their renumeration is reasonable to the extent that their needs and that of their families can be catered for without undue strain. That they can afford a little luxury here and there to ease the burden that they are never relieved of for even when the world goes to sleep they are awake and paradventure they shut their eyes in an attempt at sleep I can tell you that really they are awake. The burdens are not only physical or mental but psychological and otherwise. Their priorities in life are unlike that of any other human. For where others can conveniently rank their families no 1 the same cannot be said of a doctor. You share your time, your thoughts, your emotions with everyone. People who you dont really know save that they walked into your consulting room for an ailment or complaint often become priority over your loved ones. You might have nothing in common with these people save that you breathe in the same air in the same space. Yes,people who you dont know compete for that space of priority with your spouse, children, family, friends and even your God. For often these important people quickly take second or third place without prior notice. All it takes is a phone call or sometimes just a feeling that that patient you operated on or admitted earlier on might not be doing so well or as you expected. ANY aspect of our lives can be interrupted. We attend church or mosque as the case maybe clutching our phones like our lives depend on it. Really we live our lives differently and not many people can understand this. Nigerian doctors have been on strike for several reasons but for the purpose of this write up I would stick to renumeration, YES money! I have listened, watched and read with interest the position of part of the Nigerian public on this issue. Their take is that the Nigerian doctor is greedy beyond redemption, well if you fall into that class know that all countries have had their share of doctors strike over money so just google it. For some others they understand our position but since we all know that our government is insensitive we should just keep working under these conditions even our if our very lives are at stake abi na them send us go read the medicine? We would not call,on our government to be responsible and do the right thing but default to demonising the doctors (line of least resistance if you ask me). Whether government does the right thing or not just call off the strike. To others they scream the Hippocratic oath, something they know nothing about and assume its a suicide pact the doctor has signed. They dont know that it is an agreement and the patient or the government as the case may be has a part to play. That part which most of the public(not all) and the government have consistently ignored. Now to the Ebola issue, it is now on record that the doctor that treated the Liberian has been infected with the virus. Throughout the period of this strike people have argued that the doctor is not at risk of occupational hazards but the nurse, the lab scientist e.t.c. So I wonder what those people have to say now? Some have argued that it is sheer greed to request for hazard allowance of N100,000 and that the paltry 5k that the Nigerian government throws at us is more than enough. Now tell me what part of this 5k is enough for his treatment? What part is enough for the pain he has to go through? What about his wife and kids? Is the 5k enough for the trauma they have to go through now? Please tell me. How much of this 5k is enough for the risk of infection to his family for before the quarantine he must have had contact with them. I am ashamed of Nigeria! Ashamed of a country that has no values. Ashamed of a country that cannot put value in the right place, ashamed of a country that cannot value its healthworkers in general and its doctors to be specific. Ashamed of a government that cannot resolve issues conclusively and honor agreements. Make no mistake about it our healthcare system is not equipped to handle an epidemic. Common gloves and needles are to be found in a haystack. Not to talk of protective suits and isolation wards or centers. So what do we do now? Aha! Pray, pray that God in his mercies would deliver us from our ineptitude and the inability to use our brains and resources(and o how he has blessed us) to solve the problems that life throws at us. Yes lets pray that this disease does not spread cos all this while we have been busy looting the treasury of our country, our fingers have been deep in the coffers with none to spare for our own national development. To those that have eaten fat and think that only the poor man is at risk let me tell you, the poor man does not fly in planes. If you catch this disease the countries that treat your headache and malaria, check your blood pressure, count your pulse would not let your through their borders. America, Germany, Britain even India would not let you through. So you see its for times like this you need to ensure every citizen has access to quality healthcare. Even that your wretched gateman who cant speak proper English, your househelp, the one that drools saliva when she eats. That brings me to the National health bill part of the demands of the NMA that would put a stop to all this nonsense health tourism thats part of the hemorrhage of our resources. Nigerians lets rise up and demand better governance, better healthcare not in the year 2020 but now! I am also not ignorant of the fact that all sectors in Nigeria are not immune from problems but now the health sector has taken the centre stage lets tackle the issues once and for all! To this doctor and his family, my prayers are with you. That God would bring healing to your body, that you would survive this disease without complications and that you would be restored to full health. To his wife, kids and family I pray for grace for this difficult time and faith to believe. To all health workers out there and to my colleagues in particular......God help us!
Posted on: Mon, 04 Aug 2014 14:54:18 +0000
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