By CHIOMA OBINNA

Lagos State chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, has  faulted paramedics/allied health professionals at the University College Hospital, UCH, Ibadan  over their  plan  to down tools to protest doctors’ appointment as leaders of the sector.

The paramedics/allied health professionals had threatened to embark on industrial action following the appointment of a laboratory physician (pathologist) as the Deputy Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee (DCMAC) of the Laboratory Services in UCH.

Speaking during a press conference to announce NMA’s  53rd Annual General Meeting in Lagos, tagged:“Eko 2013”, Lagos State Chairman of NMA, Dr. Francis Faduyile, condemned the agitation for  the removal of  doctors as leaders of the health sector, saying the decision of the hospital was the norm worldwide.

His words, “We stood by the decision of the Chief Medical Director of UCH, Ibadan on the appointment of doctors as heads and we are calling on the Federal Government not to be cowed by the health workers’ threat, as this appointment was in tandem with international standards.”

Faduyile explained that pathologists are medical doctors who had gone for five or six years’ post-graduate specialist training in laboratory medicine making them specialist laboratory physicians.

On the 53rd Annual General Meeting (AGM)/ Scientific Conference  billed to hold  April 29 NMA through  May 5  in Lagos, he said the theme  is “e- Health: Potentials for improving healthcare in Nigeria” adding that over 2,500 doctors across the country are expected to attend.