State Commissioner for Health, Dr Azeez Adeduntan stated this in Ibadan on Tuesday, while speaking on the circumstances behind and consequences of the sack of 256 staff, redeployment of 299 staff and 55 resident doctors by the Oyo state government.
According to Adeduntan, the state took the decision owing to the discovery of over bloated staff and financial leakages at the institution coupled with dwindling resources available to the government.
He said the state had, therefore, addressed the perennial issue of funding facing LAUTECH hospital by rightsizing the workforce and increasing the institution’s subvention to N120 million monthly.
On the prayers of the Association of Resident Doctors, Ogbomoso, Adeduntan said there was a great likelihood that the 55 resident doctors redeployed will be returned to the hospital, while other demands for funding will be attended to within the next one week.
“The major issue of LAUTECH hospital is funding. Since we don’t have money, we had to think out of the box. The government sent a visitation panel to the hospital and the advice we were given was to right-size the workforce. We didn’t sack anybody but right-sized.
“We have over-bloated staff and financial leakages at LAUTECH teaching hospital and as recommended by the visitation panel, some were disengaged or redeployed. Within the next six to eight weeks, LAUTECH should have years free of industrial action.
“With the workforce, we have now, there is no half salary in LAUTECH hospital effective immediately. They will get 100 percent salary with the workforce we have now. They will now get their 100 percent salary as at when due and the resident doctors will also smile if they cooperate and work with the government.
“What has been bringing LAUTECH hospital backwards is the persistent industrial action and staff over-padding. The institution had 1,228 employees and with rightsizing by 25 percent, we have retention of about 650. About 55 of those resident doctors are likely coming back, while about 299 redeployed staff will be reabsorbed. Majority of those disengaged are those we can outsource their jobs.
“What we did is to make LAUTECH hospital viable. Two years ago, the hospital used to be given a subvention of N200 million. In fact, LAUTECH gets more than 50 percent as subvention while other teaching institutions get 25 percent. The government increased their subvention to about N120 million a month and with what they can generate as IGR, we will have a peaceful atmosphere in LAUTECH,” Adeduntan said.
In another development, Adeduntan, who spoke alongside his Information, Culture and Tourism counterpart, Mr Toye Arulogun, has rubbished aspersions cast on the state’s hospitals as ill-equipped and understaffed to provide appropriate health care.
Speaking against the backdrop of the recent death of a journalist in Ibadan allegedly due to the poor functionality of the Adeoyo State Hospital, Ring Road, Adeduntan said the state’s hospitals were not mere consulting clinics.
Pointing to the receipt of $2million worth of medical equipment in March 2017, he said the state boasted of equipment, consumables to treat patients adequately.
“I was pained to my bone when I heard about a lot of mudslingings that has been going about in the last seven days based on events that happened at Adeoyo State Hospital, Ring Road, which is our flagship hospital.
“What has been going around in the press that there is no equipment, consumables in our hospitals is a lie. On March 25, 2017, Governor Abiola Ajimobi received a consignment of $2million worth of equipment from the United States of America which has been distributed to all hospitals in Oyo state.
“A lot of money has been spent on the health sector between 2011 and 2017. Oyo state hospitals are no longer mere consulting clinics. They are centres where we can treat patients with adequate care. There is no perfect situation, though.
“The only person that can save human life is Almighty God. We did our best at Ring Road hospital. And I challenge any surgeon anywhere in the world to review this chart and negate what we have done there. The radio station should get a surgeon to review the chart of what was done at Adeoyo hospital,” Adeduntan said.
and then