Resident doctors’ insensitive strike

Such language should hardly be in the repertoire in the everyday communication of members of a society of care givers, particularly the medical profession.But the resident doctors have found it easily deployable in the name of pressing the government to listen to and meet their demands. Like their combative counterparts in other sectors, such as […]

Such language should hardly be in the repertoire in the everyday communication of members of a society of care givers, particularly the medical profession.
But the resident doctors have found it easily deployable in the name of pressing the government to listen to and meet their demands. Like their combative counterparts in other sectors, such as the Academic Staff union of Universities (ASUU) which is in its fourth month of walking off the lecture theatres, NARD’s demands do not relate to payment of their members’ monthly salary.
NARD is on strike over an agreement on the Integrated Payroll and Personal Information System (IPPS) that the government introduced to stem the ghost worker syndrome.
Rising from its extraordinary National Executive Council meeting at the National Hospital, Abuja, NARD said the action was to protest the federal government’s alleged failure to implement their agreement on the IPPS. Other reasons listed for the strike action included the government’s alleged failure to produce a blueprint on residency training in conjunction with the association and other stakeholders, which would consist of all aspects of residency training, including local training modules, funding and overseas attachments, among others.
The resident doctors noted ‘the failure of the federal government to appropriately respond to our demands as contained in our earlier ultimatum, which effectively expires at midnight of September 30, 2013. It further condemned what it alleged was the continuous victimization of their members by the Medical Director of the Federal Medical Centre, Owerri, in spite of several consultations between them and other stakeholders.
Reviewing these complaints, there is nowhere in them that the interest of the hundreds of thousands of patients in the country’s public hospitals that the strike would obviously affect had been addressed or their plight even mentioned.
The effects have been immediate and devastating.
As reports in the media indicate, patients on admission were prematurely discharged because hospital managements could not guarantee continuing medical attention to them. Unfortunately, some fatalities have occurred, directly linked to this misguided and insensitive conduct of the resident doctors. The cases of patients in critical condition or on life support can only be imagined.
The IPPS agreement with the government cannot be considered a life-and-death issue for the resident doctors, especially when viewed from the fact that their salaries have not been delayed or are not paid. Therefore, embarking on a strike is a life-and-death issue for the patients that have been in their care; some, as pointed out, have actually died. The NARD action makes nonsense of the vow its members undertook under the Hippocratic Oath to provide their service to patients in all circumstances at all times.
The doctors may have a genuine grievance with the government; and it would be well within the right of the association to seek an amelioration of this on behalf of the members. The problem is what strategy to adopt to seek that amelioration. This is where the role of government officials is crucial, particularly the part played by those that the government nominates to discussions with union officials.
One of the recurring grouses with the government is the lack of faith in honouring agreements its officials had entered into with various union officials. Although the aim may be to end ongoing strikes, when the agreements that made that possible are not honoured, the government as an institution risks losing credibility the next time. The government is bound by the agreements its officials willingly signed off on.  If circumstances arise to make it change the provisions of such pacts, this can be addressed through dialogue with the appropriate unions.
‘Total strikes’ deliberately aimed at shutting down public institutions, with far-reaching consequences, must be avoided.
NARD should call off its strike while its leaders consult with the relevant government agencies to resolve outstanding issues, and enable the hospitals to resume full services without further delay.