LAUTECH: NARD, NMA, ARD Reject Redeployment Of 55 Resident Doctors To Oyo State Ministry

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By; BAYO AKAMO, Ibadan

The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Oyo State chapter and the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), LAUTECH Teaching Hospital Chapter on Sunday rejected the redeployment of 55 resident doctors from LAUTECH  teaching hospital, Ogbomoso  to the Oyo state Ministty of Health .

In the statement by the unions on the redeployment, they asked the LAUTECH management to reverse the decision or face the wrath of the members, saying the action was  an “aberration and deliberate plan to rob the good people of Oyo state of specialised healthcare”.

The Oyo NMA and Lautech Ogbomosho ARD described the move as “Bastardisation of Residency Training” and “A Taboo that must never be allowed.”

According to the unions in the press releases signed by Dr. Ugochukwu Chinaka and Dr. O. V Nandi (NARD President and Secretary General); Dr. Omolola Atalabi-Oladele and Dr. Abimbola Sojimi (Oyo NMA Chairman and General Secretary) and Dr. Sebastine Oiwoh and Dr. A. Alabi (LAUTECH Ogbomosho, ARD President and General Secretary). the transfer “under whatever guise is seen as an attempt to completely eliminate residency training in Lautech Ogbomosho,”.

Emphasizing that the redeployment ” looks like taking ten steps backward in an enlightened society as ours.”, the unions called on the management to reverse the moves and all other provocative decisions reached within 21 days.

“The contract with the management and board of the LAUTECH Teaching Hospital and thus the current move attempt to redeploy any resident doctors or medical consultant to a non-teaching hospital is a gross anomaly and a breach of contract which we are of the opinion, that it was being don’t as an unintended error”, they said

The NMA on its part added that  it would not “wish the management compound the already precarious situation but rather think outside the box to find solution to the already deplorable situation the institution has been engrossed with in the last 12 months”

While  the ARD said ” Oyo state is supposed to be the pace setter state in novel, progressive and inspiring landmarks, but the pace setting actions has in recent times gone awry and in fact gone in the negative direction” and that “aside negatively setting the pace in owing members of the Association of Resident Doctors of LAUTECH Teaching Hospital fourteen and half month salary, she has amongst other previously publicized actions recently made official plans to barstardise residency training in Nigeria.

“Residency training is a competency-based intensive postgraduate medical training undergone by medical doctors in various specialties of their choice in specifically accredited hospitals by the postgraduate medical colleges (National and West Africa). Resident Doctors are employed (starting as registrars) to train, engage in researches while rendering services of world class standard. By the structure of the training, resident doctors cannot be transferred across health centres, General hospitals etc. While still remaining an employee of the employing hospital, they are allowed to go to specifically accredited hospitals for their specialist training if their employing hospital is not accredited for such.

It stressed that “this ill-informed, distasteful and illegal action of the state government orchestrated and indulged by the hospital management is a total aberration not only in Nigeria, sub-Saharan Africa but worldwide. We say It is dead on arrival”, adding, “we are also not unaware of the series of steps aimed at destroying the hospital; payment of percentage salary was the initial phase then to this illegal transfer and the final plan is to change the name of the hospital to their desired General hospital status.’

“The implications of the state government’s action will mean increase morbidity and mortality rate as well as poverty for the citizens of Oyo state. This will also spell doom for the training of Medical students. We call on all well meaning citizens, political stakeholders, traditional rulers to wade into this”

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