The Working Condition For Ekiti Doctors Is So Appaling – NMA

The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has come out to express concern over the plight of Ekiti medical doctors currently employed in the state.

NMA recently revealed that the terrible condition of service at primary and secondary health cadres prompted the ongoing strike action embarked upon by the doctors in 3 Specialists and 19 general hospitals as well as hundreds of primary healthcare facilities in the state.

According to the association, neglecting the primary and secondary health system in the state has even begun to affect the government’s plan to ensure universal health coverage for the grassroots residents.

NMA added that Governor Kayode Fayemi must start implementing the payment of hazard allowance and insurance cover for doctors working to tackle the coronavirus pandemic in the state.

A recent statement read, “In the last 18 months, there has been a gradual but steady decline in the number of doctors in the employment of the Hospitals’ Management Board (HMB ) to cover the three Specialists and 19 General Hospitals in the State.

“This decline reached an alarming proportion in the last six months. Within this period, the number of doctors in the employment of the HMB dropped from over 120 to just over 70. This gives an average of three doctors per hospital. Some general hospitals have only 2 doctors while a few have only one.

“Within the same period, no medical consultants (specialists) in the three specialist hospitals have decreased from 15 to five. Out of the five, three of them are CMDs of their respective hospitals. No good health index can be expected from this unfortunate narrative”.

“In the primary healthcare, there are only 12 doctors leaving some Local government areas without clinical cover for their PHCs. The secondary healthcare facilities are worst hit with not only external migration of its doctors to other states but also to internal migration to other hospitals”.

“The Association wishes to say that our members were neither contacted to fill any form to indicate their biodata nor asked to submit details of their next of kin. Let the government publish the names of the workers insured, the amount of premium paid for each and the amount of claim expected per person”.