MHWUN laments shortage of personnel in health sector

The National President, Medical and Health Workers Union (MHWUN), Comrade Josiah Biobelemoye, has decried the acute shortage of medical personnel in Nigeria health sector.

He also lamented the plan by the Federal Government to sell public medical facilities; while he emphasised on the need to encourage teamwork, unity  and harmony among all the sectors, and eliminate all forms of preferential treatments.

Biobelemoye pointed out that there is a drastic shortage of manpower across all cadres in the medical sector, therefore more hands should be employed.

Speaking in the euphoria of the successful separation of conjoined twins at the National Hospital, Abuja, the MHWUN said Nigeria has highly qualified professionals in all the medical fields, but what is required is to fund the health sector properly, ensure good administration and eliminate corruption within the system.

He said: “Apart from the need to fund Nigeria health sector and end foreign medical tourism, there are other lessons to learn from the successful operation. We should ensure proper administration of health institutions, increase and improve quantity and quality of personnels, encourage teamwork, unity  and harmony among all the professionals sectors, and eliminate all form of preferential treatments.”

Biobelemoye added: “Another thing we would ask for is that there is drastic shortage of manpower across all cadre, therefore more hands should be employed.

“For instance in a ward where we have 30 patients and there are only two nurses, could these two nurses give the optimal service that is required? The answer is no, and you over-labour the workers. But you can’t get the best out of them, and this kind of thing is discouraging the members of the public.”

He warned against the plan to sell public health institutions to private individuals, saying, “that is why we are saying that what is required in Nigeria health sector is not the sales theory of privatisation, commercialisations or the Public Private Partnership (PPP), but harmony in our hospitals.  If there are harmony in hospitals, definitely Nigerians will get better services in Hospitals.”

He advised Nigerians to patronise public health facilities adding, “there is no point traveling out, if you want medical consultant they are there, if you want pharmacists they are there, if you want laboratory scientists they are there, the nurses are also there.

“We need to eliminate the preferential treatment giving to one class of professional in a multi-dimensional institution. When you team everybody together in harmony, you get the required result.”

Doing all these and eliminating corruption in the system, according to him, will increase the confidence of Nigerians in Nigeria medical sector.

Biobelemoye said, “what we are saying is that, take corruption out of the system, put management that will ensure harmony in the health system, and add a little bit of additional health budget, we will be at the top and our medical professionals will be at pal with the best in the world.

“It is just that confidence has been eroded for a while, people at the helm of affairs to manage our public health institutions have decided to be parochial in administering the heath institutions. In 1960s when our health indices were at the top of the world, we were at the top of the ladder globally.

“Then, every health professionals concentrated in discharging the duty of its own calling and there was harmony. A medical doctor will not prevent nurse from getting what he wants to get, a doctor will not prevent a laboratory person to be what he wants to be. The laboratory was headed by laboratory personnel, the nursing department was headed by a nurse, so everybody was trying to put in his best in an harmonious environment.

“This is the key, if this is done, there may be no strike and at anytime Nigerians want health services, it will be available. When you bring that kind of administration to the hospital, and the public health institutions are headed by professional heath administrators, the tendency of corruption will be sharply reduced.”