BY ADEKOLA BOLUWAJI NIFEMI

Doctors at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Teaching Hospital in Ogbomoso, in Oyo state, southwestern Nigeria, protested poor working conditions on Monday.

The industrial action was initiated by the Hospital Division of the Medical and Dental Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) and its President, Dr. Ayobami Alabi, and her secretary, Dr. Taiwo Alatishe, announced in a statement distributed to journalists.

They explained that the decision was made on the basis of an act of Congress passed after the expiration of the previously issued ultimatum.

MDCAN said it is closely monitoring the situation at the hospital and there are no definitive guarantees that the issues will be partially or fully resolved in the foreseeable future.

The association said it had made efforts in the past to save the hospital from total collapse and relocate it to improve the education, research and services for which it was founded.

The association declared as unacceptable the continued non-payment of salaries by its most recently hired members unacceptable.

Also reported are “Delays and difficulties in management payment of arrears for 2016-2017.

He added that some other contentious issues include labor shortages among the medical workforce, including consultants, multidisciplinary specialists, resident physicians, training specialists and home agents.

“The recommended percentage of physicians practicing in a tertiary-level hospital is already skewed and seriously damaged by this deficiency, which affects the quality of education and services.

“The persistent inability of the hospital management to hire doctors and other staff under the pretext of lack of funds has led to the failure to expand the scope of training and services” – it said.

He also denounced the deterioration of the infrastructure, equipment and facilities which he felt meant the hospital was performing below the optimum standard expected of a university hospital.

Poor working conditions have been documented, including the lack of basic facilities such as offices for consultants and the lack of a management response despite years of appeals.

The abolition of service «is intended to save the hospital from total collapse and to relocate it to better educational, research and service areas for which it was created.

«Despite our diverse commitment, tolerance and understanding, the hospital management has not responded appropriately and satisfactorily to challenges for years.

«This treatment is anti-employee. It is also considered inhumane with the attending psychological and emotional trauma,’’ it stressed.

It noted that it was becoming impracticable for the hospital’s management to provide basic amenities for effective service delivery.

The MDCAN appealed to the public, traditional rulers, critical stakeholders and the state government to come to the rescue of the teaching hospital to reposition it for better output.