FG Yet To Replace Doctors Who Migrated From Nigeria – Striking NARD

By Sola Omoniyi, Lagos

Following its decision to embark on an indefinite strike on Wednesday, July 26, the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has lamented the Federal Government’s failure to address many of the demands that led them to a warning strike earlier in the year.

According to NARD President, Dr Innocent Orji, one of such demands is replacing doctors that have left for greener pastures elsewhere which he said the government promised to quickly attend to but has yet to do so months after signing the Memorandum of Understanding.

“One of the most important requests that we made is for government to release the circular on a one-for-one replacement because our hospitals are depleting. We have been singing this like a song since last year.

“Government on its own set up a committee that came up with a guideline on how to quickly replace those who have left the system. In the MoU we signed in May, they said that on or before June that circular will be released, and our members are dying because they are overworked.

“They are breaking down; we lost a doctor last week. It has now become a weekly event that you wake up and hear that a doctor has died and it is because of stress,” Orji said.

The recent strike comes after the association on July 5 issued a two-week ultimatum to the Federal Government for the implementation of all its demands.