The relative peace in the health sector appears to be shaky as the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) warms up for a nationwide strike which begins from 8:00 a.m. tomorrow (Wednesday)

Speaking today on the recurrent crisis in the nation’s health sector, especially among health professionals, NARD laid the blame at the door steps of non-medical practitioners.

The organisation argued that many non-doctors who had wanted to become doctors failed university admission test set by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and eventually accepted to study other health-related programmes adjudged by the public to be lower in value than Medicine. It said that when such people graduate and find themselves in the working environment with doctors, they aspire to lord themselves over the doctors.

The association directed its members across public hospitals in the country to suspend services from tomorrow morning, directing that hospitals are to remain shut till next week Monday to pressurise government to meet its demands.

The President of NARD, Dr Muhammad Askira, stated these while reading to journalists the communique issued at the end of the association’s Extraordinary National Executive Council Meeting in Abuja, co-signed by the Secretary-General of NARD, Dr. Ibrahim Kuburi and Publicity/Social Secretary, Dr. Eugene Ahuruezenma.

He said government had failed to meet demands of the practitioners, even after recent assurances from President Muhammadu Buhari, when he met with leadership of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) and assured the doctors of prompt attention to their grievances.

According to him, the indefinite strike earlier planned for last Monday has been shelved. He explained that the association would further take a decision on next line of action at the end of this month.

Askira said that issues considered at the NEC meeting include resident doctors who work in states of the country that are yet to be paid their salaries; skipping and all accrued arrears for doctors yet to be implemented in most hospitals in the country; unpaid December salaries of doctors in some federal hospitals; and house officers’ entry steps not effected.

The doctors also lamented that a committee promised by government on residency training is yet to take off, while some of their members sacked by government had not been recalled.

Part of the communiqué reads: “After exhaustive deliberations, the NEC made the following resolution: that the proposed indefinite strike action due to commence on 9th May 2016 has been shelved. That a five-day nationwide warning strike will be embarked upon commencing from Wednesday 11 May, 2016 by 8am for work to resume on Monday 16 May, 2016 by 8am prompt. That NARD will review the situation at our Ordinary General Meeting holding from 30 May, 2016.

“This decision is to press home our demands for implementation, in one hand, and also to enable the government enough time to expedite action in areas not adequately addressed.

“…NARD appreciates the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, President Muhammadu Buhari, the Leadership of the National Assembly, including all the members of the Senate and House Committees of Heath and Labour matters, NEC members and all well-meaning Nigerians for their positive roles since the beginning of this impasse.”

•Photo shows Nigerian medical doctors during a protest march.

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