Imo Government and the leadership of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), yesterday, had a fruitful deliberation over the issues facing the health sector in the state for which the doctors embarked on strike.
Secretary to the State Government, Chief Cosmas Iwu, who represented Governor Hope Uzodimma, said the discussion was not only fruitful but that the union appreciated the giant strides being made by Shared Prosperity government in the health sector.
He said government assured the doctors that their welfare will continue to be of priority and that Governor Uzodimma will not shy away from taking care of their welfare.
Iwu said the NMA leadership promised to look into the issues that led to the strike and that the body also promised to do its best to advise members to go back to work while hoping that other issues discussed will be taken care of as soon as possible.
The SSG, who met with the leadership of NMA in company of the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Nnamdi Anyaehie and the Commissioner for Health, Mrs. Damaris Osunkwo, pointed out that government was poised to continue with the infrastructural development in the health sector “because it is one of the cardinal programmes of this administration having done a lot in both the Primary health, the Secondary Health and the Teaching Hospital sectors.”
He reassured Imo people and the doctors that “soon Government will address all the lingering issues that will help Medical Doctors to perform their duties optimally.”
NMA chairman, Dr. Chidiebere Okwara, corroborated what Iwu said that they had a good conversation with the Government and that they “got strong reassurances that the lingering issues will be dealt with soonest.”
Among the issues Dr. Okwara recalled include: COMESS 2014 implementation; bottlenecks over payment of salaries of Consultants in the Teaching Hospital since March, 2020 due to administrative problems; Non Remittance of Check- off dues to the Association; Accreditation of Imo State Teaching Hospital and Accreditation of Residency Training of staff of Imo State Teaching Hospital among others.
Dr. Okwara informed that because of the challenges of the day occasioned by the second wave of the corona virus, they have decided to “give Government enough time to address the issues item by item.”