Crisis looms in the Lagos State health sector as the medical doctors under the auspices of the Medical Guild on Wednesday petitioned Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, threatening to embark on an indefinite strike over poor working conditions and non-implementation of CONMESS allowance among others.

The Guild also called on Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to intervene urgently and prevent a breakdown in healthcare services.

The doctors are demanding the immediate payment of the reviewed CONMESS allowance, appropriate entry levels for specialists, the implementation of pension deductions for resident doctors, and the recruitment of more medical personnel to address the manpower shortage.

Speaking on the development, the Chairman of the Medical Guild, Dr. Moruf Abdulsalam recalled that the Guild had drawn the attention of the Governor and the public to the dire conditions of service of the medical personnel under the employ of the Lagos State Government and the need for urgent action to be taken to redress to avert avoidable breakdown in service delivery.

Abdulsalam recalled that they had earlier declared an industrial dispute with the government over the non-payment of the reviewed CONMESS allowance already implemented for their federal colleagues and some states like Ekiti, Delta, Ebonyi, Rivers, and Katsina, adding that, it has worsened the salary parity between doctors in Lagos and aggravated the already dire emigration of doctors to the federal employment and out of the country.

Noting that the Medical Guild will be calling a congress in a few days to determine the next line of action, he said the demotion of specialist consultants as a result of incorrect step entry points into the public service has also led to loss of income, low morale, and lack of interest from prospective specialists in joining the state health service as well as non-deduction of contributory pension and NHF deductions for resident doctors in Lagos state.

“The globally recognised JAPA syndrome remains an inadequately recognised crisis, and the apparent lukewarm approach of the state government towards the above-highlighted issues only serves to tilt the Lagos doctors’ endurance to the breakpoint.

“An average of two to three doctors resign from our primary and secondary facilities every month without commensurate replacement. This has led to overwork, chronic fatigue, burnout, and strained family relationships for the remaining doctors with many grappling with chronic medical conditions from the stress and overwork.”

He added that the current economic starvation and stagflation in the country are biting harder on doctors too, stating that, it has further worsened by the non-payment of the reviewed CONMESS allowance and other issues of poor conditions of service.

“These factors are currently heightening the tension and fuelling the haemorrhage of doctors from the state to private establishments and then outside of the country.

“Nigeria and Lagos state in particular is plagued with human resource migration for greener pastures which has led to a frightening reduction in the number of doctors left in the state to manage the ever-growing population of a mega city like Lagos. This fact was corroborated recently by the remarks of the Honourable Commissioner for Health in Lagos State where he alluded to the reality that Lagos needs about 30,000 medical practitioners to fill this personnel gap.”

He recalled that a recent online survey carried out by the Medical Guild where about 940 of their members that responded also confirmed that, 91.1 per cent reported that there is a manpower shortage in their department, 85.9 per cent reported burnout from being overworked and, 54.4 per cent reported that their morale was low. About 59 per cent reported an increase in the number of call duties being undertaken by them in the last 1 year. 98.7 per cent of our members reported that they have never been a beneficiary of the LASG Homs mortgage scheme nor car loan,” he stated.

Abdulsalam lamented that despite the shortage of medical personnel and the consequent reduction in the wage bill of government for personnel cost, the state government has continued to open up more facilities including the recently commissioned Gbajabiamila Hospital, Surulere, Maternal and Child Centre, Imota.