The Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) at the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) has urged the Chief Medical Director, Professor Edmund Banwat, to resolve all contending issues with stakeholders.
The demand has worsened the crisis at JUTH as the association had demanded that all condending issues should resolved before November 30, 2017 or risk a total shut down of the hospital.
Banwat had been at loggerheads with different unions in recent times over allegations against the management of non-compliance with circulars emanating from the Federal Ministry of Health, questionable retrenchments, persecution of staff, poor management, high-handedness and disregard for subsisting judicial pronouncements, among others.
The Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) also last week disrupted activities at the hospital following protests by its members over what they described as the CMD disrespect for court order to stop sacking doctors at the institution.
Rising from its emergency meeting in Jos, the MDCAN, in a new twist to the development, observed that medical services in JUTH have constantly deteriorated over time and are at abysmally low level.
MDCAN also observed that JUTH was not able to fulfill any of its core mandate of rendering medical services, training and research due to recurrent agitations and strikes by ARD, JOHESU and other unions.
This, it insisted, had made it increasingly difficult for consultants to offer quality medical services under the present circumstances, without the risk of medical negligence, malpractice and litigation, a development it said, has made members of the public to lose confidence in the hospital’s ability to stay functional and serve the people.
In a communiqué issued after the meeting and jointly signed by MDCAN Chairman, Dr. Ayuba Madaki Dauda and Secretary, Dr. Amusa Adeniyi, the association regretted that instead of addressing the issues with a view to resolving them, management of JUTH had preferred punitive measures and aversion towards policies that favour staff welfare.
They made their demands in the communiqué, a copy of which was sent to the Minister of Health, Governor Solomon Dalung, Plateau State House of Assembly and Director of State Security Services, among others in Jos.
“We, therefore, demand that JUTH management should resolve all agitations hampering full hospital services. Congress meets again on Monday, November 6, 2017 to appraise progress made towards resolving the contending issues, and where no progress is made and industrial harmony restored, congress will mandate its members to offer out-patient/clinic services only to prevent undue exposure to medical negligence, malpractice and litigation,” it said.
