By Tobias Lengnan Dapam
Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, has said that the ongoing strike by indigenous doctors could end today. Chukwu made this known at the weekend while briefing journalists in Abuja.
He said issues that led to the strike were being discussed to resolve the issue, adding that doctors have a lot of responsibility in treating sick people.
“I also want to remind all health workers that the ethics of their professions dictates that at all times emergency care must not be denied to those that need them.
“Almost all the issues in contention were either those that had been satisfactorily resolved or issues that could be treated merely through administrative mechanism.”
The minister said, “The MoU was to have apprehended the nationwide strike that was threatened by the association. However, the NMA jettisoned the MoU and proceeded on strike on July 1, 2014. Despite reneging on the MoU, the government immediately invited the NMA to series of meetings on July 1 2014; yet this could not dissuade the NMA from the strike. Another meeting that was planned for July 2, 2014 was aborted when the NMA officials failed to show up.”
Speaking further, Chukwu said, “At the end of the meeting which lasted for 10 hours, another MoU was signed. As I speak to you, the government has met its own side of the MoU and it is expected that the members of the NMA would from Friday begin to attend to all emergency cases in public hospitals in the spirit of this understanding”.
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