By Ayodele Oni
No fewer than 105 members of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) have resigned from the service of Ondo State Government in the last one year.
The Association, in a press statement signed by the NMA State Chairman, Dr. Stella Adegbehingbe and State Secretary, Dr. Olorunfemi Owa, on Monday, blamed the trend on irregular and percentage payment of salaries by the state government.
According to the statement “some departments in the State-owned Teaching Hospital, which could hitherto boast of between six and eight Doctors, are now left with one or two Doctors.
“This makes it practically impossible for the hospital to function at a minimum acceptable level.
“Consequential vacancies in the medical officer cadre need to be urgently filled. About 50 medical Doctors in this cadre have left the employment of the Hospital Management Board without replacement over the last few months.
“Yawning vacancies exist in the Resident Doctor and Consultant cadres at the Teaching Hospital. These have remained difficult to fill due to the haphazard safety payments.
“We have it on good records that about 105 medical doctors have resigned their employment from the Teaching Hospital in the last year alone.
“Ondo State has not been able to engage requisite numbers of House officers since 2019. This has made our work almost impossible because this group of Doctors have a peculiar role in Health service delivery.
“It is troubling to note that only three House Officers are left in the service of the Ondo State Government across the three senatorial zones.
“There is no gainsaying that the ongoing laudable efforts at having a Contributory Health Insurance Scheme in the state can only be successful if the urgent issue of manpower need is adequately addressed,” the NMA said.
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