Nigerian Doctors on the March again

A cross section of FMC Owerri Doctors

Nigerian doctors (from FMC Owerri)  on the march, appealing for urgent intervention of the presidency in their affairs.

His Excellency

Dr Goodluck Jonathan

President

Federal Republic of Nigeria

Sir

We, the members of the Association of Resident Doctors ARD, Federal Medical Center, hereby write to intimate you of the problems we face in our Institution as well as employ your fatherly and timely intervention to forestall further suffering that has been the lot of our people in Federal Medical Centre Owerri. 

The atmosphere in our Institution for the past eighteen months has been that of recurrent administrative flaws, recklessness, rancor and acts of victimization by the Management.

• There has been recurrent and illegal sack of Resident Doctors before the expiration of their due duration for training. Most of the sacked doctors were without prior notices or at best informed within two weeks before termination of appointments. There are also cases of our members who had their salaries seized even at the first, unjustly tried cases.

• More so, in the bid to mete out acts of injustice to members of our Association, the Management had the salaries of one of our members abruptly stopped, while he was away in India for medical treatment despite the fact that he duly informed the Management of his problems. Sadly, with all the frustrations he died in India. As if that was not enough, the management of our hospital conspired with some individuals and labeled one of our members as deaf, and as such terminated his appointment. The same doctor was certified fit elsewhere and was re employed. Also the management has on several occasions, refused to release the hospital ambulance to our colleagues to convey them on respective occasions to a referral center, which has on occasions resulted in death of affected colleagues.

His Excellency sir, the administrative inadequacies in our centre has taken an alarming dimension. 

• The delay of staff salary into the second week of the following month is the order of the day. Most times, there is outright omission of staff salaries, or members are shortchanged. The last episode being that members were paid 93% of their due salary for the month of July.

• Besides, there have been recurrent cases of irregularities in promotion, step-ups, and advancement of our members. 

• Also the sponsorship of our members to various Update and Revision courses as well as various Examinations and Researches have been grossly ignored by this administration. 

• In addition, the Management has failed to remit our associations dues which have been duly deducted from our members’ salaries, in the past four months.

• Sadly the Management decided to hide under the guise of National shortfall to perpetrate these acts, but as a matter of fact, pays overtime allowance to few select and favorites, including the Medical Director, and some of them get in excess of five million naira. 

• His Excellency sir, it is disheartening to note that the Medical Director decided to impose her personal feelings in the formation of a Residency Training Manual for our institution and totally ignored the recommendations of the Residency Training Committee of our centre, which is the decision making body, made up of the Heads of various Departments and Heads of Training. This unacceptable policy has been the cause of the recurrent problem we are having in this centre.

• We are also aware of employment racketeering, back-dated employment letters, and the fact that salaries of some staff whose appointments have been long terminated are still running.

• The Medical Director of our Centre has refused to listen to good reason, and has ignored various interventions made by several well meaning Nigerians at finding a lasting solution to the problems of our centre. The Medical Director now sees herself as a sacred cow, a demi-god and parades herself as having an inalienable affiliation with the presidency. 

• Mr. president sir, as well-meaning and law-abiding citizens of Federal Republic of Nigeria, we cannot just fold our arms and allow the selfish interest of one person to keep our people in perpetual suffering and hardship .

• We are aware that your Government does not condone in any way, any act of irresponsibility, tyranny and victimization of Nigerians by any public office holder.

• We are therefore begging you sir, to call the Medical Director, Federal Medical Center Owerri to order, or remove her from office.

 

Thank you in anticipation of your intervention.