JUTH crisis worsens as another union gives CMD 40-day ultimatum
Kingsley Chukwuka, Jos
Crisis at the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) has taken a turn for the worse with the Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) demanding that the Chief Medical Director (CMD), Professor Edmund Banwat, resolve all contending issues with stakeholders between October 23, 2017 and November 30, 2017 or risk total shut down of the hospital.
Recall that in the past months, the CMD has been at loggerhead with different unions in the hospital over series of issues ranging from accusation against the management of non compliance with circulars emanating from the Federal Ministry of Health, questionable retrenchment, persecution of staff, poor management, high-handedness and disregard to subsisting judicial pronouncements among others.
Only last week, the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), disrupted activities at the hospital following demonstration by its members over what they regarded as the refusal of the CMD to respect court order asking him to stop sacking doctors in the health institution
In a new twist to the development and rising from its emergency meeting in Jos, the MDCAN observed that “medical services in JUTH have progressively deteriorated over time and are at abysmally low level at the moment.”
MDCAN further observed that JUTH is not able to fulfill any of its core mandate of rendering medical services, training and research due to recurrent agitations and strikes by ARD,JOHESU and other unions making it increasingly difficult for Consultants who are responsible for the management of patients to offer qualitative medical services under the present situation, without the risk of medical negligence, malpractice and litigation, a development which it said has made members of the public to lose confidence in the ability of the hospital to stay functional and serve the people
In a communiqué issued after the meeting and jointly signed by MDCAN Chairman, Dr Ayuba Madaki Dauda and Secretary, Dr Amusa Adeniyi, the association expressed regrets that instead of looking into the issues with a view to resolving them, management of JUTH had leaned towards readiness to instituting punitive measures and aversion towards policies that are for staff welfare.
The communiqué was also copied to several personalities including the Minister of Health, Governor of Plateau State, Plateau State House of Assembly, Director of State Security Services (DSS) among others.
