TEXT OF THE PRESS CONFERENCE DELIVERED BY DR TOPE OJO, CHAIRMAN NMA LAGOS STATE AT NMA STATE SECTRETARIAT, 84 OGUNLANA DRIVE, SURULERE, LAGOS ON FRIDAY 25TH JULY, 2014. Gentlemen of the press; our highly respected fourth estate of the realm, I bring a robust salute to you from the NMA Lagos State and I welcome you all to this press briefing, at the instance of the Nigerian Medical Association Lagos State. First, we commiserate with all Nigerians especially those in Kaduna metropolis on the dastardly act of terrorism that has led to the loss of several innocent lives on Wednesday 22nd July 2014. It is noteworthy to appreciate the quick response of doctors in Kaduna and Kano who promptly attended to victims of the bomb blast and are still sustaining treatment of these hapless Nigerians in hospitals designated by the NMA in these States. I want to congratulate members of Lagos NMA on a successful Annual General Meeting and 2014 General elections. I want to specially thank all our members for electing me as Chairman, NMA Lagos State, and I promise never to let your trust down. I also want to thank you on behalf of all other elected members of the State Executive Committee. Our special thanks go to all individuals and institution that supported us towards this successful programme. Dear colleagues, the electioneering process is over, with all the spices of politics that it brings, and it is time to close ranks and face the enormous task of rebuilding our dear Association. Our goal is to strive to maintain the dignity and high esteem of our noble profession as it has been since the days of Hippocrates by ensuring the highest level of professional ethics and productivity via intense activities of our relevant organs/committees. NMA Nation-wide Strike. As children of destiny, we have taken over the mantle of leadership in a period when the health sector is in turmoil, a period characterized by incessant strike actions by various unions /associations. I will therefore quickly reflect on the ongoing NMA National Strike. It is with a deep sense of concern that I reflect on the ongoing strike action considering the continuous, yet avoidable morbidity and mortality that it brings. This unfortunate debacle is forced on the Nigerian people by the conspiracy of a ruling class that thrives on money/material legislation, or how else will anybody explain why a government should be willing to concede the headship of the medical institutions in a country to allied health workers, a decision that is alien to civilization and only synonymous to intellectual degeneration and barbarism. Will the same government not concede to a hostess to fly a plane, or a court bailiff to be a judge, or the head of a university maintenance unit to be the Vice Chancellor, because of the so-called opportunistic explanation of “team work”. To all JOHESU members, kindly remember that the only known aspiration of mankind is to move up the ladder and not otherwise, and that is why an erstwhile Ph.D holder in Laboratory Science (James P. Rose) in the United States of America after several years of sojourn in Laboratory Science, went back to college to read Medicine. I am yet to see any doctor that has gone back to college to read Physiotherapy, Pharmacy, Nursing or Medical Laboratory Science. The head is simply the head. Food for Thought to the General Public: Who do you go to see when you go to the hospital? Another contention is the issue of government’s willingness to grant these allied health workers the title of “consultant”, a situation that if allowed will create unending anarchy. A quick explanation to the general public: The title “consultant” in medical practice is preserved exclusively for a doctor that has gone through a minimum of six years excruciating, full-time, postgraduate academic training (after the initial undergraduate period of a minimum of six years). We should therefore beware of those that want a big title on the basis of wishes!! The patient is traditionally registered under a consultant, who owns the patient and reserves the right of command on all issues of medical treatment and also takes responsibility for success or failure in the chain of events. We therefore warn the Nigerian people of the inherent danger of this conspiracy to deceive and confuse them as they attend hospitals for their health needs. Let it be abundantly clear that the NMA is not against the normal professional advancement of any allied health professional, our position is that the situation must not arise where there will be anarchy and disruption of the chain of command that is bound to jeopardize patients’ lives. The ratio of doctors to patient in Nigeria is presently 1:6,400 as against 1:600 recommended by WHO. Worse still, specialist doctors/consultants in various fields of medicine are in short supply contrary to the falsehood and misinformation being peddled in certain quarters to deceive the unsuspecting public by certain individuals representing the interest of JOHESU. Furthermore, all over the world, the remuneration of doctors is far above any other group of allied health workers but the motivation of JOHESU antagonism of doctors is for their salaries to be at par with that of medical doctors! Also a situation where doctors are paid N5000 naira monthly allowance for hazard is not only laughable but unbelievable!. A doctor’s life can be lost in an instance when exposed to fatal illnesses such as Ebola, Lassa fever or he may be subjected to life-long suffering from HIV or Hepatitis B infection. Again, one of the demands of the Nigerian doctors in the ongoing strike is Universal Health Coverage for all. The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) currently targets to cover only 30% of Nigerians and the NMA demands 100% coverage (i.e. coverage for all Nigerians). This, we believe, is instantly achievable since we all know that health is wealth! The Nigerian people are not even asking for treatment in Germany and America. All we clamour for is access to affordable domestic healthcare! In light of some of the above explanations among several others, I want to believe that the general public will begin to appreciate the issues at stake and get wary of the dubious tendencies and reckless detractors that engage relentlessly in misinforming Nigerians that the reason for the NMA National Strike is demand of doctors for wage increase. I want to use this medium to appeal to all well meaning Nigerians to put pressure, by all necessary means, on the Nigerian government to do the needful and save the health sector from imminent collapse. On the local front , NMA Lagos State is willing to collaborate with all institutions and the Lagos State Government, having recognized some of the good work that have been done by the current administration in Lagos State. We will ensure mutual responsibility between our members and the institutions/government. The NMA Lagos State will however relentlessly pursue our set agenda on all issues with serious intellectual, social and political engagement with the authorities. As we keep our members united on all fronts, their welfare will be our foremost priority and we will be ready to defend them individually and collectively against internal and external assault. We believe that all doctors deserve decent offices, lounges, accommodation (houses) and low interest/accessible asset loans. These will constitute our minimum standards. Our new motto is to presume the innocence of our members until proven otherwise. We will stand against casualization of the employment of medical doctors, victimization of our members and draconian rules in our hospitals. We will be visible with our opinion on all health matters in the state and/or nation, and will be proactive in making inputs in policies and decisions pertaining to us as doctors, our patients and the society at large. The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) is particular about the unacceptable figures of maternal and infant deaths in Nigeria. We shall institute Ad-hoc committees to look into all cases of maternal and infant deaths within the state and also give periodic report that is accessible to the general public as this will be an avenue to influence government policies positively. The Nigerian Medical Association, Lagos State will facilitate independent /collaborative auditing of health institutions /facilities, with a view to creating international best practices and standards. The NMA Lagos will work with her national body to prevail on government to review as a matter of urgency the existing unrealistic policy/tariff of the NHIS/HMO. Also, we will work to ensure prompt payment of medical bills by HMOs as the current attitude of delaying payment to hospitals for several months is unacceptable. All these contribute to the crippling of our health facilities. We want to appeal to the Lagos State government to look into some unwarranted sealing of legitimate private medical facilities and also to, as a matter of urgency, review the multiple heavy taxation and levy of private hospitals that reduce the capacity of these hospitals to provide adequate health care to our citizens. The government must clamp down on quackery and illegalities being perpetrated by impostors as well as allied health professionals who are operating beyond the scope of their competence. We will like the Lagos State Government to consider a robust Public-Private-Partnership options to create an even spread of patient care as this will alleviate the challenges of coping with the teaming population of patients in our general hospitals. This initiative has proven to produce gross reduction in patient waiting-time for consultation, procedures and surgeries in the public hospitals. The current security situation in our country is terrifying and one wonders if it is not going from bad to worse. The kidnapping of Chibok girls, Nyanya bomb blasts, and the above mentioned bombings in Kaduna and Kano in the last 48hrs is tantamount to genocide. It is apparent that the Nigeria ruling class lacks an answer to current spate of insecurity which is largely their own unpalatable creation. The current tendency to commercialize education is quite sad considering the unrealistic increases in tuition fees by various governments. The obvious consequence of this is to create a younger generation of illiterates that may be condemned to prostitution and street gangsterism whose idle hands will become the devils workshop and continue a vicious cycle of insecurity. We must state clearly that a lot of people in government today benefitted from an educational system that was virtually free. Some infrastructural developments under the current administration in Lagos State are commendable. However, we still have gross infrastructural decay in a country where workers pay high tax including basic needs like pipe borne water, electricity and good roads. To our esteemed gentlemen of the press, we appreciate your role in the development of every society but the principle of balanced journalism must not be mortgaged. It must be borne out of the principle of unbiased investigation and everyone must always remember that democracy of today is a direct product of the fearless and sincere journalism of yesterday. Therefore, the truth must be told about the rot in every facet of our society rather than pay lip service - the pen remains mightier than the sword. Finally, it is with deep sense of sadness that we received the news of the demise of Mr. Bamidele Francis Aturu, a human right crusader, legal luminary and patriot who fought the cause of the Nigerian masses and doctors in particular with uncommon passion and dedication. We pray that the good Lord grants his soul internal rest and the family the fortitude to bear the loss. As we join hands with all progressive forces to build a better Nigeria, it is important for us to always remember that, according to Edward Burke, all that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. Thank you all. Long live NMA Lagos State! Long live NMA National! Long live Lagos State! Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria! ----------------------- ------------------------- Dr Tope Ojo Dr Saheed BKS Chairman, NMA Lagos State Secretary, NMA Lagos State
Posted on: Sun, 27 Jul 2014 18:01:17 +0000
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