Kaduna Paying Least Salary For Doctors In Northwest -NMA

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The Nigeria Medical Association (NAN), on Wednesday called on the Kaduna State Government to improve the salary and welfare packages for medical doctors to halt migration of medical doctors to other states.

The state Chairman of the association, Stephen Kache said this during a press conference at the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) House in Kaduna.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the press conference was on issues that led to ongoing strike by Resident Doctors and other challenges in the state health sector.

The residents doctors have been on strike for two weeks over welfare issues.

Kache said that Kaduna state is currently the least among the Northwest states in terms of health workers renumeration, a situation that is causing frequent migration of health workers from the state.

“It is on record that whereas Kaduna (a premier state) drags it’s foot, neighbouring states like Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Jigawa, Nassarawa and Niger states, have for over three years now, implemented the CONMESS salary scale for doctors.

“They all have their doctors comparatively earning higher than their counterparts in Kaduna state,” he said.

The chairman said that the state government hospitals have a little over 200 doctors to manage the 33 general and rural hospitals and supervise the 255 primary health care centers across the state.

He said that the ongoing threats of sack of doctors on strike by the state government would only worsen the situation.

“Recall that the State Association of Resident Doctors first issued a notice to the state government dated October 3rd, 2019 which after prolonged delay in response, eventually led to the state government setting up a team headed by the SSG to engage the aggrieved union with NMA playing mediatory role.

“The negotiations were painstaking and slow, but the patience of ARD pulled through till the conclusion of the negotiations and signing of agreement dated Oct. 20, 2017.

“It has taken a period of 29 months now and ARD had sent in several number of follow up letters and made several contacts persuading the government to keep to the MOU, all of which the NMA was involved.

“We, therefore, call on the state government to rather invest its time and efforts in coming up with a realistic proposal for constructive engagements targeted at addressing the injustice being meted on the doctors and the embarrassingly poor remuneration being paid to doctors in Kaduna State,” he said.

Kache also called on the state government to expedite action and approve the corrected CONMESS for doctors in the state, to bring them at par with their colleagues in other states.

He also called on the state government to step up the surveillance system by making PPEs available and ensure adequate equipments at the isolation center.

“This will enable them to resume work and join their colleagues in the fight against Covid-19.

” We call on all health care professionals to have a high index of suspicion and maintain universal precaution at all times, which will include the use of PPEs,” he said.

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