Health workers under the auspices of Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) and Assembly of Healthcare Professional Associations (AHPA) have chided the federal and state governments for aiding the oppressive and suppressive actions of Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) and Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCAN) against other professionals in the sector.
National chairman of JOHESU, Comrade Biobelemoye Joy Josiah, who attributed the myriads of problems facing the health sector to inequitable distribution of privileges, resources and clamour for liberty among the constituents in the sector, accused the governments of complicity in the “tyrannical blackmail” of physicians.
In a statement made available to LEADERSHIP Friday yesterday in Abuja, Josiah said, “One of the professions and its practitioners – medicine and physicians – aided by the tyrannical instrument of state continues to oppress and suppress all other health professionals in a supposedly multidisciplinary sector.
“Physicians and their umbrella body have blackmailed and intimidated successive administrations in Nigeria at both state and federal levels to continue to insist that appointments as minister of health at federal and commissioners for health at state level remain the birthright of physicians, albeit unconstitutionally.
“This unfortunate spirit is a carry-over of the conqueror mentality imposed on all health workers by physicians by the obnoxious Decree 10 of 1985 which has now metamorphosed to the University Teaching Hospital Act CAP U15 LFN 2004. The decree was the tool of oppression created by the late health minister, Prof. Olikoye Ransome-Kuti in the military era anchored by General Ibrahim Babangida.
‘’For the records, it was Decree the 10th of 1985 that reversed the gains of the fruitful headship of health administrators in federal health institutions and replaced same with the headship of physicians as the chief medical directors, medical directors, chairman, medical advisory committee, head of clinical services and their numerous deputies in all health institutions across board at state and federal levels. The domination is extended to even appointments into the boards of managements of the various federal health institutions where about eight of 13 slots have been permanently reserved for physicians to the detriment of consumers of health services,” he said.
Josiah recalled that towards the end of the President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, physicians under the aegis of their
multiple platforms manipulated the Yayale Panel which recommended amongst others: that all existing professional regulatory councils in the health sector scrapped/merged to become a central regulatory agency to be led by physicians. It also recommended that no profession in healthcare will be structured to run along doctorate inclination.
According to him, in apocalyptic terms, these physicians barred the Nigeria Universities Commission (NUC) from recognising the Pharm. D programme for pharmacists, O.D. for optometrists, doctor of physiotherapy for physiotherapists and similar academic layouts.
On the refusal of some federal health institutions to implement the consultant cadre circular for pharmacists, he said, “in December 2020, pharmacists were granted consultant cadre by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation. Apart from the University College Hospital, Ibadan and Federal Medical Centre, Makurdi, where the boards of management have graciously approved the commencement of this cadre, all the other 55 federal health Institutions have simply refused to allow the execution of the circular.”
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