According to statistics, they constitute a larger population of the total workforce in the health sector of the state, but they are not treated well. It is statustorily their role and responsiblility to work, most times in the hinterlands but they are still not treated well. While Doctors may also not be treated any better, it can be said that these group of health workers surely are not getting the right salaries/compensation by their employers, the state goverment.
So they have decided to stay away from work and do other jobs to boost whatever earnings come from government.
This is how the Guardian News reports the abysmal state of the primary health care system in Enugu state;
Health workers across the 17 local government councils are owed various months, thus fuelling nonchalance in their work.
The salary situation was said to have worsened since the Transition Council Chairmen took over in January this year, following the expiration of tenure in office of elected council executives.Some of the health facili-ties visited yesterday have been taken over by weeds, while one or two health staff were seen loitering around some facilities, many others remained under lock and key as no human presence was noticed around them.While doctors operating in the facilities were said to have left in the last four months, the facilities exist without drugs as the oper-ators said they did not have access to drugs.In one of the health facili-ties at Enugu South Council, the only female staff on duty lamented that overgrown weeds have taken over the facility, stressing that: “Snakes and other dangerous animals move into this place any-how. You can see that I decided to stay in the balcony because I am afraid of what may happen if I should go inside.“Residents find it difficult to patronise us because there are no drugs, there are no doctors. What we try to do here is to give immu-nization to children and the few of them that patro-nise us come only on Mondays. We don’t treat any other medical cases here because there are no facilities and doctors.“The last time we wanted to get drugs here, it took me several days of lobby-ing for the ministry of health to release malaria drugs to us. They kept say-ing that we lack necessary facilities. We have written several letters of appeal to the local government to come and clear this place, even though people don’t come to work, but it has not worked. I come because i cannot close this place.”
