From Linus Oota, Lafia
Minister of State for Health, Dr. Ehanire Osagie has advised medical doctors that the best way to register their grievances is through dialogue and not strike.
He said: “It is only in Nigeria that medical doctors go on strike and abandon patients on the sick bed.
“Health workers/medical doctors should not be seen going on strike. Under no condition must you go on strike and abandon your patients on the sick bed, due to non-payment of entitlements. In most countries, doctors don’t go on strike as the interest of patients must be given top priority”
The minister who stated this yesterday, at the Federal Medical Center, Keffi, during the commissioning of electronic medical records/e-payment and solar power installations to mark the centers’ health week 2017, said strike was not the best way of resolving issues in the health sector
“There are ways of addressing such grievances, it may take a little time but certainly will be resolved.”
He disclosed that primary healthcare is key to the Buhari administration, adding that government was committed to building one primary health center in each of the council wards across the country to reduce the heavy burden on secondary health centers.
Speaking earlier, Chief Medical Director of FMC, Keffi, Dr Giyan Joshua said the hospital is committed to offering quality healthcare services to the people, adding that in 2013 nine capital projects were commissioned in the center for the benefit of the patients.
They included accident emergency, family medicine complex, pharmacy complex, intensive care unit, obstetrics and gynecology complex, central information technology and telemedicine unit, sickle cell disease zonal center, NHIS unit and C-T scan.
He said the center also took a bold step to install 200KVA of solar power through partnership with Suntotal Nigerian Ltd. “We now have 24 hours power supply for lighting, fans, computers and some life saving equipment.
“We have also taken another step to delve into the world of electronic medical records (EMR) seeing the potentials in it to revolutionalise our service and in 2015 we went on our EMR in partnership with Digital Quest and today we are happy to tell you that from registration to collection of medicines, the process is completely electronic, ‘paperless’.
“Collection of fees has also been made electronic as an appendage of our EMR platform, we have and already started enjoying the numerous benefits of those initiatives in many aspects including reduction in waiting time, increased patients satisfaction, savings in finance, improved quality of patients care, efficient auditing, improved conscientiousness among staff, improved training potentials and availability of data for research,” said Dr Giyan.