Resident Doctors in Enugu Commend Gov Mbah for Employment of 100 Doctors, Other Milestones
The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) Teaching Hospital, has commended Governor Peter Mbah for the employment of 100 resident doctors, consultants, and other support staff to address manpower shortage in the state's health sector.
The medical body also commended Mbah for the promotion of its members, infrastructural upgrade, improved security, digitalisation of medical records, introduction of cashless payment policy for medical services to check revenue leakages, among others, in the state's health sector.
The commendation was contained in a press release signed by the President of NARD, ESUT Teaching Hospital, Park Lane, Enugu, Dr. Ofonere Chukwunonso and the Secretary, Dr. Nnamani Ikemefuna.
"The Association of Resident Doctors, ESUT University Teaching Hospital, highly commends the Governor of Enugu State, His Excellency, Dr. Peter Mbah, for the giant strides his government has made in the several sectors of the state, especially the health sector.
"These include the promotion of our members from senior registrars to consultants; recruitment of over 100 new resident doctors, consultants and other support staff for quality healthcare delivery; upgrade of the security and surveillance architecture in and around the state teaching hospital; support for accreditation of several departments to promote training of resident doctors and medical students; cashless payment policy and digitalisation of patient care through electronic medical records system; upgrade of schools of nursing to college status to train more nurses and paramedics in the state.
“We also commend the administration for the delivery of new ambulances and upgrade of the accident and emergency complex to better align with international best practices; implementation of a policy system to reward productivity among hospital staff; payment of improved hazard allowance; recent approval to renovate all the toilets and bathrooms in the wards of the hospital to ensure safety and comfort of patients and staff; and the flag-off of construction of hundreds of model type-2 primary health facilities across the state," the doctors said in a press release made available to newsmen on Sunday.
The resident doctors also commended the Chief Medical Director of the state teaching hospital, Prof. Bethrand Ngwu, for imbibing the governance philosophy of Governor Mbah and thereby positively turning around the hospital in a very short period of time since his appointment by the new administration.
The CMD was also commended for his commitment to ensuring the full accreditation of all departments in the hospital as well as efforts towards thebmassive infrastructural upgrade aimed to reposition the Teaching Hospital as one of the top ten tertiary health centers in Nigeria in line with the governor's vision.
They, however, tasked the governor to accelerate the process of payment of the 2023 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF) to Resident doctors in the State Teaching Hospital, as is obtainable in several other states.
They also called on the Mbah administration to commence an upward review of the salaries of medical doctors in the state, to reduce the hardship occasioned by the worsening economic downturn, and thereby reduce the brain drain of medical doctors, which the body described as "alarming."
They further requested for employment of more House Officers in line with the recent upgrade of quota by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria.
The resident doctors said they were poised to ensure industrial harmony and smooth running of the state teaching hospital, pledging to support the administration in making Enugu State "a center for excellence in healthcare and a prime destination for local and international medical tourism."
“We equally urge the good people of Enugu State to support the government in its efforts and vision to change the face of Enugu State and position it as one of the top states in Nigeria and Africa, in terms of human and capital development," the statement concluded.