By PEREZ BRISIBE, Ughelli

The Delta State chapter of the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria, AMLSN, Thursday said its members receive an average of N30, 000 as health allowances in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that its personnel are paid far less than cleaners in the health sector in the state, who are paid N70, 000.

The scientists while threatening to withdraw their services from the Delta State COVID-19 team if the anomaly is not rectified, said they are giving the state government two weeks to look into their grievances or else, there will be no health personnel to collect samples from suspected COVID-19 patients in the state.

Though the State Commissioner for Information, Dr. Mordi Ononye declined commenting on the matter when contacted, his counterpart in the ministry of information, Charles Aniagwu, debunked the claims by the scientists saying, “That cannot be true because our allowance is bigger than any other state in the country.”

AMLSN Public Relations Officer in the state, Hilary Ugwoke while lamenting what he described as the discrepancies in the health allowances compared to other health professionals in the state, wonder the modalities used in the payments for doctors, nurses and pharmacists who he said receive far more than medical laboratory scientists in the state.

He said: “Of all health workers in the state apart from drivers, medical laboratory scientists in Delta State are the least paid. Some are paid as much as N30, 000 for the six months based on the sample collected and we are saying that it is not a function of sample collected because hazard is hazard as we are all prone to being infected by a singular person.

“At the Delta State University Teaching Hospital, DELSUTH, Oghara for example, Doctors were paid an average of N250, 000; Nurses got N90, 000, Pharmacists got N180, 000 while cleaners where paid N70, 000 compared to medical laboratory scientists whom were paid N30, 000.

“We will like to know the methods used in the variation of payments for all health professionals that will warrant us receiving N30, 000. If this anomaly is not rectified within the shortest possible time, we will be forced to withdraw our services from the COVID-19 programme in the state and we are giving them a timeframe between now and next month to do so.

“Of all health professionals, we are the only personnel that interact with suspected COVID-19 patients with their mouths and nose open while coughing and breathing on us in most cases, unlike doctors and nurses who attend to them while wearing protective equipment thereby putting us more at risk.

“It should also be on record that if our services are withdrawn, as the only professionals backed by law to collect samples from suspected COVID-19 patients for test, nobody will be available and allowed to collect samples from such patients for test.” (Vanguard)

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