Naij.com Reader Blasts Doctors For Embarking On "Irrelevant" Strike

Naij.com guest writer Itekena Evans Thompson blasts "selfish" Nigerian doctors for embarking on a seemingly endless and, according to him, "irrelevant" strike, and criticizes the Federal Government for not implementing more resolute measures.

"I have not heard of any country, even among our West and East African neighbours, where doctors would go on strike. But in Nigeria, "giant of Africa," it is a reality."For over a month (just to be cautious of overstatement), the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) and the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) have been on strike. Still, they are being paid their full salary; they will get their money without working until whenever they decide to call off this irrelevant strike action. And I will tell you why I call it "irrelevant".

"The following question begs itself: where from or how does our Government generate the money to pay Nigerian doctors on strike? 

"The hospitals are closed, no revenue is made from the health sector. If your mind is working the way my mind is working, then, by now, you must have come to the inevitable conclusion: we, the tax payers, are the ones these doctors want to be feeding on while they lay about doing nothing.

"Oh! Sorry, they are not doing nothing, they are rather busy rendering medical services in their private ill-equipped clinics at a cut-throat prices.

"So, you may want to ask the question: who is at the losing end and who is benefitting? Engaging in full-time private practice while the Government pays them at the end of the month.

"More worrisome is the seemingly helpless posture assumed by the Federal Government on this matter. The Government really has one thousand and one alternative to provide health care to over 170 million Nigerians who are now dying in anguish every day, waiting for the hospitals to reopen, even if these hospitals are below the World Health Organization-recommended standards. At least they are still hospitals."

"Apart from Nigeria, could anyone think of a country where all its hospitals will be closed down for a day? This tells you something about its people. Welcome!

"One may also ask, what do the striking doctors really want?

"From my own viewpoint (of course, a myopic one) the whole reason why the doctors are holding the health sector hostage is not about improved "take home" package, but their ego!

"They want to occupy certain administrative (not medical) positions in the hospital, positions they were not employed or trained to take in the first place. They want management of the hospital to be their sole prerogative.

"Then how about the pharmacists who know all about drugs, produce them, prescribe their usage and dosage, its administration and reaction for physicians to apply? The Nigerian physician will tell us that pharmacists are lesser mortals, not knowledgeable in hospital administration or management, their place is in the laboratory researching on new cures to illnesses.

"Okay, how about lab scientists? Those who investigate and diagnose a disease and suggest treatment. Oh! The physician will say the same thing: lab scientists are lesser mortals compared to him and are not trained in hospital management and administration.

"What really do the physicians (doctors) do over and above the others that they now arrogates to himself such level of superiority to the point of protesting reference to the others as medical personnel or consultants, etc.? According to the physicians, they are the only ones who should be referred to as "consultants". So is it a mere nomenclature that they are fighting for and are allowing helpless Nigerians languishing of ailments in their houses? I don’t think so. But for the benefit of doubt, let everyone of us "consult" our dictionaries to know the meaning of that word. Oh! Please do not "consult" your dictionary, simply look at it, lest the physicians protest against the dictionary for being "consulted".

"So what is happening in hospitals?

"A patient comes to see a physician for primary consultation. The physician listens to and examines the patient to determine the possible ailment he or she is suffering from. Then, the physician refers the patient to the lab scientist for proper diagnosis, which is a secondary and more complex consultation. The lab scientist does all what he is required to do and sends the report back to the physician. A report which explains what exactly is wrong with the patient, what type of drug (chemical) the disease is sensitive and or resistant to, the degree of the disease, etc. it is with this report that the physician will now prescribe drugs to the pharmacist who will release the drugs to the patient. The whole process is a teamwork he purpose of which is the patient’s recovery.

"Therefore, what makes a physician more important than the rest, what makes him a better administrator or manager?

"Let’s look at the position of a Surgeon General. Apart from the United States, I do not know of any other country that has this post. Must we follow the U.S. sheepishly? Will it not amount to duplication of offices? What has the Surgeon General done that Nigeria is now shutting down hospitals?

"I think it’s high time the average Nigerian showed how annoyed he is with the happenings in this country!"