Resident Doctors Agree to Suspend Strike till July 14

The leadership of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has agreed to suspend its strike at a meeting with other health sector stakeholders on Tuesday.

The Association’s leadership also appealed to members to suspend the strike until the next meeting scheduled for July 14.

The decision emanated from the meeting between resident doctors and other stakeholders, organised by the Speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the meeting will reconvene in three weeks to review progress made in the implementation of agreements reached.

In a similar development, the Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole, has ordered the replacement of all striking Resident Doctors (RD) in the various government teaching hospitals.

This was contained in a statement issued by Boade Akinola, the Director, Media and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) on Tuesday in Abuja.

The directive was contained in a circular signed by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dr Amina Shamaki and sent to the CMDs and MDs of the Federal Tertiary Health Institutions.

Adewole said that the striking doctors failed to attend their training programmes, despite ongoing negotiations and so, their vacancies should be filled up with other doctors that have before now sent in their applications.

“It has come to the notice of the Management of the Ministry that some RDs in your establishments have voluntarily withdrawn from the Residency Training Programme by refusing to report for training without authorisation.

Public Service Rule, PSR 030402 (e) is relevant; this is in spite of the ongoing negotiations on their demands put forward by the representatives of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD).

In view of this development, you are hereby directed to replace all the doctors that have withdrawn their services, with others from the pool of applicants for the training programmes in the various disciplines.

This has become necessary so as not to create ominous gap in training with attendant disruption of health care delivery in your facility.

Meanwhile, the ministry is working with the panel on the review of the Residency Training Programme in Nigeria, led by Professor Wole Atoyebi, the Registrar of the National Postgraduate Medical College.

This is to fast-track the development of a comprehensive blueprint for postgraduate training of doctors in the country.

Please, ensure immediate compliance,” the minister was quoted as saying.