Insecurity threatening health services, NMA says
The Nigerian Medical Association in the FCT has urged the presidency to investigate inter-agency rivalry over spate of insecurity around the country, insisting it was negatively impacting the delivery of health services.
A number of doctors have been kidnapped this year alone, prompting a protest and strike by doctors in Cross River state.
Two others kidnapped since March in Taraba are yet to be released after N12.3 million was paid in ransom.
“What are our security men doing? They are trying their best but can we say it is good enough,” said NMA chairman in the FCT, Dr Philips Ekpe.
“Right now, it is very difficult to travel by road because of fear of insecurity. [President Muhammadu] Buhar should not keep quiet. There should be an investigation panel to find out why there should be argument among security apparatus over the kidnapping of Nigerian citizens. It is his duty to make sure we have security in this country.”
The association said insecurity has hit health care delivery hard, putting health workers at risk when they have to work at night.
On-call are required healthworkers to have accommodation within hospitals, but most health centres lack accommodation for personnel, prompting healthworkers to live out of site.
In night-time emergencies, healthworkers are called to site or ambulances sent to pick them up.
But doctors speaking to Daily Trust cite two separate nighttime attacks on ambulances conveying emergency-duty officials in the FCT.
“So it is then about choosing between the safety of the driver and healthworker and the patient whose life you are trying to save,” according to a doctor working at one of the FCT’s district hospitals.