House c’ttee declares doctors’ strike illegal, unconstitutional

Posted by admin House, Lagos, Legislature, State News Monday, May 21st, 2012

By Sola Ogundipe & Chioma Obinna
LAGOS — The House of Representatives Committee on Health, yesterday, declared that the solidarity strike by doctors under the employment of the Federal Government as illegal and unconstitutional even as the Lagos State Branch of the Nigeria Medical Association, NMA, yielded to pressure to reconsider its decision on the strike.

A high-powered delegation of the House Committee on Health led by its Chairman, Mr Ndudi Elumelu, who conveyed the message to the striking doctors in Lagos, said the House was worried about incessant strikes in the nation’s health sector.

Speaking at an emergency interactive session with the Chief Medical Directors of the four Federal Government hospitals in Lagos and the leadership of the Association of Resident Doctors in the four health institutions including the President of the Lagos State Branch of the NMA, Elumelu urged the doctors to go back to work.

Stressing the need to look at the legality and constitutionality of a solidarity strike, he said: “We are getting too many strikes in the health industry. It is important that for every action that we take, there is need to look at the legality and constitutionality of such actions. You do not use conflict to resolve conflict. Continuous dialogue is the best option.”

The House Committee Chairman who frowned at current situation queried: “The question now is that we have patients who have been left unattended to and not being cared for and as this strike is going on, should we say that the salary should be stopped and that if we resolve the issues, salary will start running?

“Or do we say salaries will be running on at the detriment of the Federal Government and also our patients that are supposed to be cared for? These are questions that all of us including myself should look at.”

Emergency meeting

Elumelu, who spoke to journalists shortly after a closed door meeting with the parties, hinted that already the doctors had agreed to call an emergency meeting.

“We are here in respect of the Federal Government agencies employees that embarked on solidarity strike. That informed our visit. During our deliberation, it was agreed that it was in their own meeting that they agreed for them to embark on this solidarity strike. And for them to call it off, they also need that emergency meeting to enable them discuss, review the reasons for embarking on strike and be able to come up with a quick solution. Now you will agree with me that they need that space before the close of business today and which they have agreed that they will do.

“They are telling us between now and peak time it could be 4.00 or 5.00 pm that they will meet. They will not abandon Federal Government patients that are in those four agencies. That is their pledge. That all patients will be treated as if doctors are on duty, and having given us that commitment, we have no doubt they are gentlemen and will abide by such undertaking.”

“The CMDs are worried and disturbed. The doctors are also worried because they feel for the masses. They are also responsible employees of the Federal Government who also feel that if the patients are not cared for, they will be losing income and because the essence of setting up those places is to provide healthcare services as well as generate income. They are also bothered that the sooner this thing is resolved, if possible today, will be better for them.”

Earlier, the State Chairman of the NMA, Dr Edamisan Temiye said following the meeting with the committee members that the doctors had agreed to call an emergency meeting of the association within the shortest possible time to review the situation on ground.

Temiye pledged that pending the emergency meeting of the association, the doctors would continue to take care of the patients already on admission.

He said: “NMA Lagos is also calling on the National Assembly to speedily intervene on the current issues in the health sector in Lagos State because NMA may not be able to control the situation if it gets out of hand.”

-Vanguardwp_posts