By SOLA OGUNDIPE
CHairman of the Lagos State branch of the Association of General and Private Medical Practitioners of Nigeria, AGPMPN, Dr. Olayinka Oladosu has appealed to the Lagos State Government and the Medical Guild to re-evaluate their present position  on the impasse within the health sector in the interest of the good people of Lagos State.

Oladosu, who urged that strike should not be used as an instrument of bargaining in the present dispensation, said lobby and dialogue were much better options.

Speaking in Lagos at a press briefing held by the Association to state its position on the current health sector crisis in the state, made the appeal against the backdrop of loss of lives trailing the sacking of the doctors and subsequent events, urged both parties to sheath their swords and embrace constructive negotiations for the sake of peace.

“We want Nigerian citizens who need our services to be attended to as a matter of right, irrespectiveof the prevailing circumstances. At the same time, our colleagues should have total rethionk of their present strategy of using strike as a tool for conflict resolution.

Also speaking, National President of the Association of Dr. Anthony Omolola urged the Lagos State Government and the sacked doctors to be more focused towards fashioning a way out of the imbroglio, saying that the interest of the patients and the image of the medical profession remained paramount.

He called for constructive dialogue as the only way out of the current logjam in the health sector in Lagos state as a result of the crisis brought about by the sack of 788 doctors in the employment of the Lagos State Government.

Expressing dissatisfaction about the current strike and all attendant problems in the state health sector, Omolola said: “We are ready to sacrifice to bring succor to patients. This is a moment of reflection, a moment where we need to have a re-think about the happenings in Lagos State.

“However hard the situation may be, succour and solution must come. We believe that strike should be last option to get something in a conflict resolution. We believe in the dialogue process in conflict resolution,” he stated.