Health workers tasks Buhari to restore peace in the sector

Doosuur Iwambe, Abuja

Health workers under the umbrella of the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN) has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to put in place modalities that will bring about lasting peace in the health sector. AMLSN National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Casmir Ifeanyi, who made the appeal during a chat with newsmen in Abuja on Friday, lamented that the rivalry in the health sector has been an albatross over the years. He said that until government at all levels and other healthcare agencies fully appreciate and harness the potentials of medical laboratory services, no meaningful progress can be made in the nation’s health system no matter how much money is invested. “Misdiagnosis and mismanagement of patients’ conditions will continue to hunt the health sector, hence medical laboratory science remains the key to the cure in modern health care practice,” Casmir stated. Describing as unfortunate the lingering rivalry amongst health workers which according to him has become an albatross over the years, Mr. Ifeanyi expressed concern saying, until a lasting solution is arrived at, the health sector will continue to deteriorate. “Medical laboratory science is the engine of the medical sector. We are all professionals and should be treated as such. It is high time government puts a stop to the injustice against our members. Every profession that provide care has its given role and must be respected,” he added. The AMLSN publicity secretary further called on President Buhari to throw away the Yayale Ahmed Presidential Committee of Experts on Professional Relationships in the Public Health Sector (YAPCEPRPH), saying it is “biased, one-sided and out of line. “We the under listed stakeholders in the health sector find it necessary to inform the federal government that we out-rightly reject the very biased and one-sided report of Yayale Ahmed in both public and professional interests. “Our findings confirm our fears that as usual, the secretariat of the committee was infiltrated by the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) through the instrument of its privileged members in high places in government.” On how peace could be restored in the sector, Ifeanyi called on those concerned to obey the 10 court judgments delivered by various courts in the country in favour of the association, declaring that “if they are not implemented, there shall be no peace.”