Kogiflame
The Chief Medical Director (CMD) Federal Teaching Hospital Lokoja, Dr. Olatunde Alabi has disclosed that the hospital has a total number of 282 doctors still in the service of the teaching hospital.
Dr Alabi who was reacting to the allegations raised by the Association of Resident Doctors during a stakeholders meeting held at the hospital on Tuesday, said contrary to the claims that the hospital can only boast of 42 doctors
Reeling out the breakdown down of doctors in the hospital, Dr Alabi said consultants alone are 86, while visiting doctors in various fields that are lacking in the hospital are seven in numbers.
He added that Resident Doctors are 49, medical doctors 42 and 43 house officers, stressing that the claims by Association of Resident Doctors that the hospital had only 43 doctors was a calculated attempt to tarnish and smear the good image of the hospital.
He debunked the narratives that the hospital is in a serious crisis and about to collapse.
“I wonder where and how they come about such negative and unfair information. This is an embarrassment to the hospital.
“I don’t have any problem with any union in the hospital except those who are not willing to follow the rules and regulation of the civil service and this category of our staff are few fragment of members of the Association of Resident Doctors who are not willing to be corrected”
Speaking on the claim that the management of the hospital refused to employed doctors and other health workers since 2012 despite government weaver to do so, the Chief Medical Director , explained that in 2013 and 2022 there was recruitment of health workers including doctors to fill the various vacant positions in the hospital.
“We were recruiting resident doctors regularly before the government policy on IPPIS came and with that policy there is nothing we can do again even when some resident doctors moved away as a result of “Japa” syndrome which also affected virtually all hospital across the country.
“On the issue of allowances and arrears, I can say categorically that I am not owing any staff monthly salary, but the allowances that are due to staff and it is our responsibility as management we don’t delay such allowance. Hazard allowances are paid by the federal government through IPPIS” he stated
In his remarks, the controller labour, Kogi State Mr Labija John expressed his dissatisfaction over the way and manner the Association of Resident Doctors and the management engaged themselves on a media war without using dialogue to resolve issues internally.
While warning unions that they can not fight with their managements and succeed, the labour leader urged the management of the Federal Teaching Hospital Lokoja to do the needful in ensuring that there is peace, unity and harmonious working relationship between staff and the management of the hospital.
Also in his remarks the Executive Director, Conscience for Human Rights and Conflict Resolution (CHRCR), Comrade Idris Abdul Miliki charged the management and the unions to always use dialogue to resolve any conflict in the hospital rather than allowing things to go bad.
He urged the CMD to be proactive in interacting with his staff with a view to address some issues before it degenerated to conflict of high proportions.
