The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Ondo State Chapter, has lamented the mass resignation of its members from the state government’s workforce.
It said that 105 doctors have left the state service in the last year.
The association, in a press statement signed by the NMA state Chairman, Dr Stella Adegbehingbe and the state Secretary, Dr Olorunfemi Owa, blamed the trend on irregular and percentage payment of salaries.
The NMA leadership pointed out that some departments in the state-owned teaching hospital, which could hitherto boast of between 6 and 8 doctors are now left with 1 or 2 doctors.
The statement reads: “Consequential vacancies in the medical officer cadre need to be urgently filled.
“About 50 medical doctors in this cadre have left the employment of the Hospital Management Board without replacement over the last few months.
“Yawning vacancies exist in the Resident Doctor and Consultant cadres at the Teaching Hospital.
“These have remained difficult to fill due to the haphazard safety payments.
“We have it on good records that about 105 medical doctors have resigned their employment from the teaching hospital in the last year alone.
“Ondo State has not been able to engage requisite numbers of House officers since 2019.
“This has made our work almost impossible because this group of doctors have a peculiar role in health service delivery.”
Efforts to get the Permanent Secretary in the state ministry of health, Pharm Foluke Aladenola, to comment on the matter as at press time proved abortive as she did not pick her calls.
The state did not also have a commissioner for health since the second term of Governor Akeredolu’s government just commenced.
Meanwhile, the governor had recently in an interview said he was not elected to pay salaries alone and that medical doctors in the state’s payroll were not special than other workers.
According to the governor, “They shouldn’t try this again. We are not fearful, we are ready for them. They are not different from teachers, lawyers, journalists and other categories in the state.
“All of them have students going to school like doctors. People should help us talk to them.
“There is no government that will use all its monies to pay salaries. We are not elected to pay salaries alone.”