Lagos doctors in second day of warning strike.

The three-day warning strike declared by doctors in the employment of Lagos State Government enters the second day leaving thousands of patients stranded in public hospitals across the state.

The striking doctors also reacted to the threat by Governor Babatunde Fashola to stop their salaries by applying the ‘no work, no pay’ rule, as a strategy to prevent the strike, and called his bluff with their own reply: ‘no pay, no work’.

In spite of the government threat, the strike began on schedule and many doctors were absent in several health facilities across the state.

The doctors, under the auspices of the Medical Guild, embarked on the strike to pressure the government to implement fully, the Consolidated Medical Salary Scale (CONMESS) and to review downward the tax regime.

The Medical Guild is an Association of doctors under the employment of the Lagos State Government. 
They include the association of Resident Doctors (ARD), Dental and Medical Consultants Association of Nigeria (MEDCAN) and junior doctors.

Addressing journalists at the end of a general meeting held by the Medical Guild in Lagos State University Teaching Hospitals (LASUTH) yesterday, the Chairman of the Medical Guild, Dr. Olumuyiwa Odusote, said despite the Lagos State Government’s inaction to prevent the strike, “There is no going back on the part of the doctors.”

Asked how the doctors are reacting to the ‘No work, no pay’ circular from the government, Odusote, “No pay, no work.”

On what the medical will do if the government fails to respond appropriately by implementing the CONMESS fully, Odusote said the Medical Guild Congress will decide the next course of action.

When the we visited the Lagos State University Teaching Hospitals (LASUTH) in Ikeja, Lagos, the usual large number of patients moving in and out of the facility to seek care was absent. 
The Records Unit where patients usually retrieve their cards before proceeding to see doctors, was bereft of large numbers of patients.

The few patients that turned up to keep appointments with their doctors were just given new appointment dates by record staff and advised to return on the future dates.

At LASUTH, only consultants were seen attending to critical cases while there was a heavy presence of policemen that were drafted to man the gates of the hospitals by the government to prevent any sort of fight that could arise from striking doctors trying to prevent consultant doctors from working.

Although we sighted about 13 patients that were on admission at the Medical Emergency Ward in LASUTH, investigations revealed that no doctor had seen any of the patients at as 1.30pm on Wednesday.  For instance, the relation of a male patient on admission told us that no doctor had attended to her father since morning.

Similarly, at the Surgical Emergency Wards, over 18 in-patients were on bed, one medical consultant only was available to provide care for them.

Asked what her family would do if doctors fail to attend to her sick father, she sighed and said they cannot afford treatment at a private facility.

At the Gbagada and Surulere General Hospitals, large numbers of patients were seen lurking around as only consultant doctors were seeing a small number of patients even though other health workers such as the nurses, pharmacists and laboratory scientists were working.

It was also observed that many patients had visited the hospital, hoping they would be attended to by doctors.

At the General Hospital in Surulere, General Hospital Lagos, General Hospital Ikorodu, the situation was the same as many patients were seen standing in groups, discussing the development in low tunes.

A patient at the General Hospital in Lagos expressed disappointment over the strike, saying she had spent over N350 from Aja to get the hospital.

She lamented that the condition that brought her was severe hemorrhoid, which requires urgent medical attention. “I hope the government and the doctors will resolve their differences on time to prevent unnecessary suffering on the part of patients,” she said.

According to Odusote, the Medical Guild is also demanding the implementation of teaching allowances for doctors in the state. “As we speak, the Lagos State Government has refused to implement teaching allowance for levels 10 and level 12 doctors, which is contrary to the content of the CONMESS Circular.”

In addition, the doctors want the Lagos State Government to return the entry point of some category of doctors to level 15 to step 4 as it is obtained in other parts of the country.

Furthermore, the association said those doctors whom the government had initially appointed on level 15 step 4, whom they had thereafter demoted to step one, should be returned to their initial positions as indicated in their letters of employment.

The Medical Guild is also demanding that all other officers whom the government has dropped their steps in the guise of implementing their new pay policy should be immediately returned to their appropriate steps they were at the onset of the implementation of the CONMES Salary because what “we agreed was that there will be a lateral implementation, that is: People will move from the level and steps they were on the Lagos State Medical Salary Scale to the new CONMESS on the same level and step. That was not what the Lagos State Government did,” lamented Odusote, adding, “And we are asking that that should be done.”

According to Odusote, the Medical Guild is not asking for anything new. The financial implications involved in implementing CONMESS fully had been worked out over a year ago and the government had approved the implementation.

However, one year down the line, he lamented that some agents of government are manipulating the figures in an attempt to shortchange some of the doctors to the benefit of the government.

Between August and November 2010 and February an April 2011, doctors in the Lagos State employment withdrew their services to press for the implementation of CONMESS and other demands.

In March, 2011, the Lagos State Government approved the implementation of CONMESS for all doctors in the state and thereafter, the strike was suspended.

According to Odusote, said this warning strike is to amplify the shout of the doctors.

It is not a new strike, he said and blamed the government for reneging on its own words.

Reacting to the strike in a circular tagged: A Lagos State Government’s Rresponse to Doctors' Strike, the government said, with the implementation of the Lagos State Government Medical/ Dental/ Veterinary Officers Consolidated Salary

Structure (LAMDVCSS) and Lagos State Government Consultants Consolidated Salary Structure (LACCSS) by the State, which is being referred to as CONMESS, teaching allowance is granted to medical consultants and medical, dental, veterinary officers as follows: Medical Consultants on Gl15-17 and to Medical/Doctors/Veterinary Officers on GL 13-17.

According to the government, the issue in contention from the point of view of the Medical Guild is that House Officers on Grade Level 10 and Medical Officers on Grade Level 12 should be paid the teaching Allowance.

However, the government said from consultations and clarifications made, grade levels 10 and 12 medical officers are exempted from the allowance. (Nigerian Compass)