The Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) has observed with grave concerns the failure of Federal and state governments to issue relevant circular on increase harmonised retirement age of hospital consultants to 70 years for doctors and 65 years for other healthcare workers in the country.
They also frowned at the persistent inability to squarely address the issues of shortfall in salaries of clinical lecturers (honorary consultants), occasioned by non-payment of their salary with CONMESS, the Consolidated Salary Structure for Medical and Dental Doctors in public service in Nigeria.
MDCAN stated this, yesterday, in a communique issued at the end of its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting with the theme, “Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative and its Significance in Achieving Universal Health Coverage.”
The communiqué, jointly signed by MDCAN President, Prof Mohammed Aminu Mohammed and Secretary General, Dr. Daiyabu Alhaji Ibrahim, said the development if not addressed would be the bane in the process of sustainable production of healthcare workforce.
It reads: “We also resolved that government as well as critical stakeholders in healthcare sector should have strategic plans that will ensure all Nigerians have financial, geographical and functional access to quality healthcare.
“The various steps outlined in the Nigerian Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative (NHSRII) should be properly followed, and MDCAN as well as other critical stakeholders should be involved for effective delivery of quality healthcare to all Nigerians.
“Federal and state governments should as a matter of urgency address the age long demand of universal applicability of CONMESS to all qualified medical and dental university lecturers in the colleges of medicine/health sciences across the various universities in the country.”
According to the communique, the increase in the numbers of medical students admitted should be followed up by deliberate efforts by the Federal Government to increase human resources, infrastructures such as classrooms, laboratories and simulation laboratories for effective training.
They further noted that the association as critical stakeholder in the training of trainers of medical students and doctors should be involved in decision making on issues that affect their training.
It argued that one of the priority areas of the current administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda considers healthcare as essential pillar of development, and the government should seek to improve healthcare by strengthening the primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare services.
According to the consultants, the recent Federal Government policy of “No leave of absence” for any healthcare workers in its employment is viewed as discriminatory and a violation of their fundamental human rights as citizens of Nigeria, as guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria, as amended.
