A fresh crisis might be brewing in the health sector as the 788 doctors that were recalled by the Lagos State government on Thursday have asked for official letters to back the reversal of their earlier sacking.
It is, however, not certain that the state government will honour the request as it had asked doctors to immediately resume.
The Chairman of the Medical Guild, Dr. Olumuyiwa Odusote, at a news briefing organised by the Nigerian Medical Association in Lagos on Friday, said although the government had announced that they had been recalled, the guild was yet to receive any official letter from the state government.
He said, “We are asking the government to communicate with us as they did with the sacking.
“We are happy that they recalled us, but we need an official letter before we can resume work in the hospitals.” Odusote, however, said the guild had written a letter to the Health Service Commission, requesting for the official letters of re-instatement.
He said, “Many doctors have called the chief medical directors of their hospitals to know if they have received letters that back their recall. The government is yet to communicate with them or the guild either officially or formally.”
The chairman, Lagos NMA, Dr. Edamisan Temiye, said until letters of recall had been given to the sacked doctors, they would not resume work.
He said, “The doctors are ready to resume immediately, but as of now, what they have is a letter of dismissal.
“How could the government have made such a momentous statement without contacting the key players? As of now, it is illegal for the doctors to go into these hospitals. We do not even know the conditions attached to this recall or suspension of dismissal.”
Source - Punch
