Lagos—The Nigeria Medical Association, NMA, yesterday decried the ongoing strike by public sector health workers as unjust.

Deputy Secretary of the association, Lagos State chapter, Dr. Peter Ogunnunbi, said that the strike was driven by rivalry with medical doctors.

He said that the strike was not in the best interest of Nigerians, accusing them of promoting anarchy and state of disorderliness in the health sector which could degenerate into quackery.

Ogunnubi, who is also a psychiatrist at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, said: “Their, JOHESU, strike is illegal and they have no moral right and no cause to go on strike.

“Their action can only be described as biased, unjust and not serving anybody’s interest, but theirs.

“The health workers are unashamedly contesting for equality with the medical doctors.

“Their self-centred demands obviously discourage international best practices, professionalism and patient self-centred care in the health sector.

“With their self-serving demands, quackery is going to be the order in the health sector and you will be unable to distinguish between doctors and support health staff.

Ogunnubi then appealed to the striking health workers to imbibe the international best practices and allow common sense to prevail for the common good.

“Healthcare delivery is critical to the well-being of any society and with this understanding, JOHESU should put the interest of Nigerians topmost in their demands,” he said.

“However, the health workers should know that they can’t cripple the hospitals; doctors are whom patients go to see in the hospitals.

“Anywhere in the world, without doctors, there is no hospital,” he said.

The union had on Nov.12, 2014, embarked on indefinite strike to press home their demands including non-implementation of welfare agreement with the Federal Government.

Other demands are recognition of health workers as consultants within the hospital, promotion of officers and increase in retirement age of health workers from 60 to 65 years.