- UNTH doctors have protested over alleged fraud and mismanagement of their salaries by the hospital management
- The protesting doctors accused the management of trying to divert a certain N100m sent by the federal government to settle their arrears
- But in his reaction, the hospital's CMD, Christopher Amah, faulted the doctors' protest, saying they don't have evidence of their claims
The resident doctors at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu, shutdown the hospital on Monday, December 3, over the alleged fraud and mismanagement of their salaries and other entitlements by the management.
Legit.ng regional reporter in Enugu, Ikpechukwu Chinedu, reports that the doctors who carried placards marched round the hospital premises chanting songs of disappointment and loss of confidence and trust on the management of the hospital.
It was gathered that the doctors who carried the protest to the accounts department of the hospital, called for the immediate sack of the Deputy Director of Finance (DDF), Chukwudi Onuchukwu, who they claimed had continuously shortchanged them.
The aggrieved doctors also requested the immediate sack of the hospital's Chief Medical Director (CMD), Christopher Amah, for his alleged lack of competence to run the hospital efficiently.
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According to them, “Resident doctors say that the DDF must go. We have been shortchanged for a long time. We are no longer treated as resident doctors. What is due to us has been taken away from us. We don’t know how much is our salary; we don’t know how much is our arrears.
UNTH protesting doctors. Photo credit: Ikpechukwu Chinedu
“Today we demand transparency, we demand honesty, openness, accountability. Let us know how much you have spent from our money, the money belongs to us. It is our efforts, it is our sufferings, it is our sweat, we will not allow you to take it away.”
Addressing newsmen shortly after the protest, the president of association of resident doctors UNTH chapter, Dr. Nwidenyi Isaiah, accused the management of trying to divert a certain N100m sent by the federal government to settle their arrears.
He said: “The first N100 million sent was in April, the second one was in October. The first has been disbursed and in doing that the management said they were to share it with us, 70 percent - 30 percent and we are saying no to that arrangement.
"The doctors are saying no to that formula, insisting that whatever money that comes from the federal government on our behalf should be given to us completely.
"They took part of the N70m representing 70 percent and started paying our advancement arrears. They have paid up to 70 people but they have not given us account of how much they have utilized out of the N70m they claim they want to give us. So we ask them for clarification, accountability, let us know how much of our money have been spent but they said no.
“The doctors are saying the aren’t accepting that; they should give us a breakdown of how that money have been used we don’t want to be shortchanged. Also the second N100m that came this October they are now saying that it does not belong to us.
"That the money was removed somewhere from their account and given to them; we smell fraud and we are not accepting that story because the same people that sent the first one sent the second one.
"We do not accept that story and that’s why we are protesting that they should use the money to pay us what we call skipping arrears. Federal Medical Centre, Owerri , got the first and shared; now the second one has come they are still sharing it instead of telling stories to their doctors. But it is in the character of UNTH to tell stories.
“There is also an illegal policy that is being implemented by the hospital management; they call it bond deduction. Any doctor that starts work in the hospital, his first call duty allowance is withheld; they remove it; they call it bond deduction.
"We don’t understand that argument. What they say is that by the time we will be leaving the system they will refund us the money. It is not true, nobody has ever been refunded and it is illegal.
"It is ether they send the money to Treasury Single Account or they send the money to the government which they don’t do. They send it to their private accounts and claim that it is bond. How can you remove N98,000 from over 150 new residents and N50,000 from over 130 House Officers, it’s big money.”
“They extended the period of stay of our house officers by three weeks. We do not accept it because we don’t understand the reason for that. They said it was because other hospital workers were on strike .
"Yes, other hospital workers wee on strike but the house officers were working. They were coming to work. So for you to extend their stay as a result of strike that was not embarked upon by doctors is wrong. it was by other hospital workers JOHETSU, it’s none of our business and we cannot accept it.
"The only condition for such an extension is when he embarks on strike but we did not go on strike. So the three weeks extension to house officers is illegal and we don’t accept it.
“We have told the management to refurbish our call rooms. When resident doctors are on call in UNTH some of them go to House officers house to sleep, some take their call, at midnight they look for where to sleep. Some of them go to four corners to stay in hotels. Our call rooms are in shambles.
"They are in terrible condition. We have asked the management to refurbish our call rooms, make it look like a place doctors can work. We have been begging them. Some of the beds are broken, there are no foams, how do you expect a doctor to sleep on the floor.”
The chief medical director of the hospital, Dr. Christopher Amah, however, faulted the doctors' protest, saying they don't have evidence of their claims.
Amah said: "We did not receive such money as they claim. They went to ministry of finance and they give them information without prove."
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Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that Professor Usman Ahmed, the provost of the college of medicine and health sciences, federal university, Dutse said that Nigeria needs additional 155,000 doctors at the ratio of one doctor to 1000 people to achieve the Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
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