NARD says Benue Teaching Hospital has sacked 30 doctors

.It’s a lie, says management

The Benue state chapter of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors has accused the management of the Benue state University Teaching Hospital of sacking over 30 members n the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

The association in a statement said it have rescinded some letters and has also upheld others in a haphazard and subjective manner that doesn’t not just follow the laws regulating the service of resident doctors in Nigeria, but is also a disservice to the suffering people of Benue state.

“The training of resident doctors in Nigeria is regulated by the 2017 Medical Residency Training Act (MRTA) which is very explicit of how a doctor should enter and leave residency training. 

“The Act allows resident doctors to train and pass all exams over an eight and half to nine year period as against the six years that the management of Benue state University Teaching Hospital wants to impose on resident doctors here” the association stated.

According to the association, the Act also empowers the National Post-graduate Medical College as the only body who can recommend resident doctors for exit from the residency programme on the grounds of duration as the NPMCN sends the names of resident doctors due to exit the training every six months to training institutions.

It noted that the last of such letters was on March 10 and none of the resident doctors in the Benue state University Teaching Hospital was listed for exit and wondered where the management of the teaching hospital for the powers to sack resident doctors.

The association further held that the management of teaching hospital should borrow a leaf from her sister health institution, the Federal Medical Centre, Makurdi where the 2017 MRTA has been adopted and is being used as no resident doctor who has spent less than eight years has been sacked. 

“Many of the doctors being told their time has expired have not been sent by the management for mandatory postings they are to undergo before completing their programmes. 

“This, the management blames on the gross shortage of doctors in this hospital. Our doctors have their training stagnated, some for over three years by the management, only to be issued sack letters that their time is done, when it was the fault of the management who refused to release them for those postings,” it added.

The association further accused the management for refusing to take into account the periods when some departments did not have and lost accreditation and resident doctors were not able to go for examinations as all the lost time was factored in by the management.

In a swift reaction, the university teaching hospital management has said only  three residents were sacked upon service of month notice in compliance with directives of the management board of the hospital.

“For the avoidance of doubt, we wish to make it clear that residency is a time bound training policy of the Benue state Teaching Hospital, which requires resident doctors to pass all prescribed examinations of six years,” it explained.

A statement by the Deputy Director and Head, Public Relations, Mr. Cephas Hough for management said doctors whose appointments have been terminated exceeded the prescribed period for the programme.

Mr. Hough pointed out that as at now, the Medical Residency Training Act 2017, which resident doctors made reference to, in their statement is yet to be domesticated by the Benue state University Teaching Hospital and is therefore, constrained to implement the contents of the said Act until ii is approved by the board.