By Peter Okutu
ABAKALIKI — No fewer than 50 resident doctors have been confirmed to have left Ebonyi State Teaching Hospital, EBSUTH, to seek greener pastures else where within the health sector.

Confirming the figure, President, Association of Resident Doctors, ARD, Ebonyi State, Dr. Nweke Dave, said the doctors left the hospital because of the state government’s unwillingness to comply with the agreement reached with the Association on the Consolidate Medical Salary Structure.

He said the association decided to call off their strike owing to appeals from the Nigeria Medical Association, NMA, which decided to take up the matter.

He said:  “The management of EBSUTH should not use diversionary means to undermine our request. Our demands are essentially based on agreement.

“We decided to call off our strike because of appeals from several quarters and also because of the season we are in now. During this period, many deaths are often recorded. We direct all our members to get back to work.

“Doctors have been on the go. There is a steady move of doctors owing to the disparity of pay. The worst thing happening here is the on and off of strike. Each time we go on strike, it is based on remuneration.

“The panacea is for doctors to be paid what they deserve. Our pay here is nothing to write home about.”
Reacting on the state of the hospital, the Commissioner for Health, Ebonyi State, Dr. Sunday Nwangele, noted that the main issue causing the ripples in the hospital was the disparity of salaries of doctors.

He appealed to his colleagues to approach the issue  with a deep sense of responsibility and acknowledgment that government had contributed immensely to improving the health sector in the state.

He said:  “The singular problem with our Teaching Hospital is that of our salary structure. It started early 2008. I appeal to my colleagues not to get into political reasoning in disguise of our medical body.

“A doctor, by call, will not incite other colleagues to go on strike because we have taken an oath to save lives.
“It is this government that paid the balance of the money used in building the Teaching Hospital running into millions of naira about a year ago. This government has equally increased the monthly subvention of the hospital from N64 million to N80 million.”