By Agboola Bayo
Ibadan
Even as the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) suspended its 55-day old strike, resident doctors at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, yesterday stayed away from their duty posts.
Blueprint reliably gathered that the resident doctors might not be unconnected with the uncertainty still surrounding the purported termination of the resident doctors by the federal government during the strike.
Sources close to the doctors said the UCH authorities might not be disposed to allowing the resident doctors back to their duty posts until the reversal of their purported sack by the federal government.
President of Association of Resident Doctors in the hospital, Dr Franklin Anoor, said there was no basis for members of the association to go back to their duty posts for now.
“It is true that the strike has been suspended, but, we are still awaiting government reversal of the circular through which we were pronounced sack and our training suspended,” he said.
Speaking, the Chairman Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC) of UCH, Prof. Jesse Otegbayo, said the hospital was still awaiting the revocation of the sack letters issued by the federal government on the resident doctors.
Otegbayo disclosed that without the withdrawal of the circular suspending the resident doctors, they “cannot fully resume duty.”
He pointed out that from the agreement NMA had with the Ministry of Health before the strike was suspended, there should be withdrawal of the circular that suspended residency training programme.
He said: “The consultants, medical officers have resumed, but the ARD’s members are also on ground, but the federal government still has some issues to settle with them in terms of restructuring the residency training and we are waiting for the next directive from our principal in Abuja.”
Commenting on the issue, Oyo state NMA chairman, Dr Muyideen Olatunji, said there was nothing stopping the resident doctors from going back to their duty post after the suspension of the NMA strike.
“There is nothing wrong with the resident doctors as all doctors are expected back at their duty posts.”
