OGUN ADMITS POOR PERFORMANCES IN HEALTH CARE SECTOR
Omooba Risawe
Ogun State Government on Wednesday admitted that it has failed in the healthcare delivery, with a plea to rise up to the challenges facing the poor performances of the administration.
The Secretary to Ogun State Government, Barrister Taiwo Adeoluwa owned up to this during protest embarked upon by members of Nigeria Medical Association(NMA),Ogun State Chapter.
The Doctors in their hundreds stormed the governor’s office in Abeokuta to tackle Governor Ibikunle Amosun over alleged unfulfilled promises he made to improve healthcare sector.
The Doctors carried protest placards with inscriptions such as ‘We need standard healthcare sector’,’Fulfil your promise of quality healthcare. Doctors are dying of workoverloaad’,’Ogun Health workers are not slaves’,aand ‘Governor Amosun Bring back our Interns and Health NYSC health workers’, among others
However, the Secretary to State Government, who attended to the protesting Doctors on behalf of his boss, Governor Ibikunle Amosun admitted that, the state government has failed in health sector,stressing that the protesting Doctors have genuine reasons to protest.
He promised that government would improve on the lapses, which he also admitted included, poor state of infrastructure among others
‘We are not where we should be, I agreed with you.Your protest is to draw our attention to what yet to be done. I know almost everything you said are correct’,Adeoluwa said.
‘On infrastracture decay, it is true. We know there are lot of things to be done in health sector. We don’t derive joy in telling lies, but for constraint of cash, we still have some challenges. Give us 6 weeks we shall look into all these. We want to assure that we are partners’
The Secretary to the State Government, however, told the protesters after collecting the letter of protest from them,that he would deliver it to his boss, Ibikunle Amosun
Earlier in his speech, Chairman of the association, Dr Abayomi Olajide who led his colleagues on the protest, said they took the step to avoid embarking on strike if the government do the needful.
They alleged that, the governor has reneged in his electoral promises in the healthcare sector,stressing that they(Doctors) were dissapointed in terms of manpower capacity building,recruitment of doctors,and other health workers,infrastructural development and welfare,which they declared government has not fare well.
‘Sir, we wish to draw your attention that your campaign promises is yet to be actualised in health sector. The gross shortage of medical personnel/health workers in the local government areas and all health institutions under the Hospital Management Board, this portends great danger for the state’, Olajide stated
The Ogun State Doctors lamented that as at today,Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta has total number of specialists Doctors and medical officers than the State Hospitals Management Board
‘The level of infrastrural decay ranging from old dilapidated stuctures,obsolete equipments,inadequate security,poor drug supply chains to mention a few. There is no single CT scan, Magnetic Resonance Imaging(MRI) machine owned by the state. It negates the Ogun standards we all clamour for’
‘Non payment of corrected consolidated Medical Salary Scale as obtainable in other South-Western states and federal health institution as a way of stemming the tides of internal brain drain in the state’
‘Non recruitment of House Officers for the compulsory internship in the last 3 years but rather taking of such young doctors on supernumerary basis does not speak well of your government. As an extension, NYSC doctors are not being deployed into the state especially our rural areas’, the protesters said.
Meanwhile, the protesters later took their grievances to the State House of Assembly, but the Speaker and his colleagues were no available, while the protest letter was received by the Clerk of the House,Olanrewaju Bisiriyu for onward transmission to the assembly
