By Chioma Obinna

THE Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Health, Mr Linus Awute, has condemned the protracted strike embarked upon by the Association of Resident Doctors of some Federal hospitals, including the Lagos University Teaching Hospital,LUTH,  saying the current administration of President Mohammadu Buhari is too young to be experiencing strikes from doctors.

COMMISSIONING: L-R: Medical Director, National Orthopaedic Hospital Igbobi, Lagos, NOHIL, Dr Olurotimi Odunubi and Permanent Secretary, FMOH, Mr. Linus Awute officially commissioning the newly built Societe Internationale de Chirurgie Orthopédique et de Traumatologie, SICO, Education Centre at the National Orthopaedic Hospital Igbobi, NOHIL, Lagos last week.

Awute, who spoke in Lagos weekend while commissioning the Societe Internationale de Chirurgie Orthopédique et de Traumatologie,  SICO, Education Centre at the National Orthopaedic Hospital Igbobi, NOHIL, Lagos, said the strike was untimely and opined that the resident doctors should have created room for dialogue with government before embarking on the strike.

“This is a new government and this type of strike is wrong. There are many things we ask in our prayers when we are speaking to the Almighty Creator, but not all the things we want that we get. But responsible people still remain gratified that they are alive and that they have the gift of life.

“First of all, you have to tow the line of dialogue. But so far, I have not seen any moment of dialogue that preceded this strike under this present administration. Second, we have not seen anything that threatens the existence or the foundation of the resident doctors to warrant a strike of this magnitude.” he said.

Urging the striking doctors to remember that everybody in the health system and every worker in the health system have one problem or the other, he stated that “you don’t just embark on strike as a means of solving that problem. “You are demanding for payment that is not in the budget of 2015. The solution is simple. You wait so that 2016 budget articulation will embrace all these demands. That will you require to call off the strike.

“As far I am concerned, it is the life of the patients that matter. So, sacking them from the hospitals, and going on strike, or remaining on strike perpetually for this number of months, is also a disservice to Nigerians,” he stated.     On the SICOT centre, Awute said that the gains are enormous and said it would advance the practice, skill and knowledge in orthopaedics which he said, is a very critical service demand angle in the health system.

He said the SICOT Centre, fifth in the world and second in Africa, was built in partnership with the NOHIL, to advance skills and knowledge of orthopaedic and trauma training in Nigeria and the West African sub-region.

SICOT is an international non-profit association incorporated under Belgian law with the aim of promoting the advancement of the science and art of orthopaedics and traumatology at international level, in particular for the improvement of patients’ care, and to foster and develop teaching, research and education.

The Lagos SICOT centre is equipped with wet laboratory, cadaver preservation room, administrative offices, a 40-seat lecture room and dry laboratory among others.

Speaking, the Medical Director, NOHIL, Dr Olurotimi Odunubi, who praised the initiative, stated that the Centre would assist in providing educational materials and visiting lecturers, adding that fellowship will be given to trainees from the education centre to visit international institutions of excellence in exchange programmes.

The National Delegate, SICOT Nigeria, Dr. Wahab Yinusa, said: “Today’s ceremony opens a new page in the history of SICOT Nigeria and that of NOHI”, adding that Nigeria will benefit immensely from the education centre.