The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has warned of "impending disaster and collapse" of public hospitals and the health sector over what it said were created and enforced by misplaced court ruling and legislations meant to support egos and vested interests.
In a statement Wednesday, the National officers committee of NMA spoke of illegal conspiracy motivated by the "misguided belief that destroying the medical profession and 'equalizing' medical practitioners with other health workers and professionals, will lead to the fulfilment of their ambitions to also lead the health team."
It said the situation has led to a hijack of legislation, creation of frivolous courses and programmes with no relevance to health care and blackmail of hospital heads to take actions that waste resources and add no value to health care other than satisfy individuals and groups.
"Public interests have been seriously compromised in favour of corruption and ego promotion," said Dr Kayode Obembe, president of NMA.
"Patriotism and conscience to promote decency and preserve the sanctity of a noble profession like medicine have been thrown overboard to deliberately or inadvertently destroy the healthcare system, thus accelerating the descent into anarchy."
He said while groups of health workers blackmail administrators with strikes, doctors choosing to work through the strikes have been "violently prevented and assaulted by detailed thugs, often junior and middle cadre staff, sometimes imported from other establishments for cover."
In a move to offer clarification, NMA has insisted that medical and dental specialties in hospitals come under the headship of a specialist doctor, who will have responsibility for initiating and managing care irrespective of allied health workers on the medical team and bears liability in case of default.
"The unquenchable appetite to extort money and exploit suffering Nigerian masses leading to the phenomena of pseudo-typhoid epidemic, small hepatitis and little malaria syndromes, the ravaging of the populace by staphylococcus, etc, is one handy example of what running laboratories without pathologists' looks like--human samples are handled without a recourse to the state of health of the owner," added Obembe.
The association called on federal and state health ministries, National Assembly and chief medical directors to work to restore sanity in health.
"Nigerians deserve nothing less than quality and safe healthcare," said Obembe, insisting it was time to stop indiscipline, mediocrity, ignorance and absurdities that have plagued health for decades.
"The road we have decided to thread may appear rough but we are determined to forge along it though with pains," he concluded.
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