NMA, PSN pledge to stop rivalry

The leaderships of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) and the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) have resolved to stop the rivalry.

NMA President Francis Faduyile yesterday led his executive members on a courtesy visit to the PSN headquarters in Lagos where they were received by the president, Pharm. Ahmed Yakasai.

They both agreed to put in place committees to draw up a checklist on issues responsible for the rivalry and explore ways of resolving it.

They said the rivalry denied patients the requisite care which doctors and pharmacists and other healthcare providers had pledged to give.

Part of the resolution of the meeting was for the two bodies to prevail on their allied unions to withdraw court cases involving doctors and pharmacists and other bodies.

The NMA president noted that there was a lot of mutual distrust among healthcare professionals, saying “If this continues, it will affect the patients and all of us. We have doctors who have died during strike. We are all called to be in the medical profession to serve humanity.”

The PSN president said it was unfortunate that the nation’s healthcare system was so fragmented, stressing that the sector could not move forward without inter-professional collaboration.

He said the rivalry was responsible for the brain drain of healthcare professionals, disclosing that over 8,000 Nigerian pharmacists practised in the United Kingdom.