The National Executives Council (NEC) of the Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) has expressed its disappointment over the non-implementation of the 50% electricity subsidy by federal government hospitals.
Recall that the Federal Executive Council recently approved a fifty percent electricity subsidy for public hospitals to lessen the burden on these health institutions.
The MDCAN, in a communique jointly signed by its president, Professor Muhammad Aminu, and Secretary General Professor Daiyabu Alhaji, at the end of its NEC meeting, made available to newsmen in Jos, Plateau State, strongly condemned the inability of the government to match words with action over its pronouncements.
It warned that the development is inimical to quality health service delivery, adding that the federal government must not renege on their promise to subsidise electricity in public hospitals in the country.
“MDCAN, as a body, is passionate about the well-being of the patients and teeming Nigerian population. Concerted efforts must be made to look into this issue and make good on the promise of subsidizing electricity to public hospitals.”
The Association also demanded an immediate halt and reversal of the consultant pharmacy cadre adventure in order to maintain sanity and orderliness in patient care and well-being, and not to throw the healthcare sector into an unnecessary and avoidable crisis.
The communique commended the efforts of the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji, for improved welfare of medical lecturers, stressing that these will encourage medical doctors to take up teaching appointments in the medical schools, therefore supporting the federal government’s policy of doubling the enrollment of medical students and training postgraduate doctors in the teaching hospitals.
“This will boost the federal government’s policy on healthcare workforce. They should urgently implement the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) addressing the long demand of universal applicability of CONMESS to all doctors across different government establishments.”
According to the communique, MDCAN also reiterated the urgent need to address pay disparity amongst medical doctors who work in the federal establishments and state-owned institutions and resolved to continue to press on this demand by engaging the leadership of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) as well as individual state governors in order to stem the tide of internal migration from state-owned hospitals to federal healthcare institutions.
The medical and dental consultants also noted with grave concern the increasing inflation rates, which affect access to healthcare by causing an increase in the cost of services as well as drugs, calling on the government to critically look into the possibility of reducing the pump prices of petroleum products as a way to boost the economic power of the citizenry.
NEC further reiterated the position of the Fellowship of Medical Postgraduate Colleges as the highest professional and academic qualification required for the training of doctors at undergraduate and postgraduate levels as well as for career progression.
It commended the efforts of the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammed Pate, and Minister of State for Health, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, for their roles leading to presidential approval for the increase in the retirement age for doctors and other healthcare workers in the country.
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