At least 10 consultants and 36 resident doctors have resigned from the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Teaching Hospital (COOUTH), Awka over poor working condition and management.
Chairman of Medical and Dental Consultants (MDCAN) at the hospital, Dr Chukwudi Okani, said the doctors were “frustrated out of the system because of poor management in the last one year and many are seriously searching for better places to go.”
He said the COOUTH has the worst condition of service in the whole of Nigeria teaching hospitals and urged the governor Willie Obiano to immediately intervene to save it from imminent collapse.
According to him, the ongoing indefinite strike embarked by his members would continue until government meet their demands of better condition of services so that doctors will not be leaving COOUTH.
Okani said that both the state government and the management of the teaching hospital are not serious in addressing the multiple problems facing the teaching hospital.
According to him, the consultants would return to work only on the condition that Anambra government pays them minimum of 70 per cent of the revised CONMESS.
“Let us be reminded that our benchmark for return to work is at leader 70 per cent of the revised CONMESS as agreed at the committee level” he said.
“This is the only teaching hospital in Anambra state and the state government cannot effectively put it in order, pay liveable wages to the workers to retain the good brains in the hospital who are leaving for other institutions”
He also disclosed that most of departments in the teaching hospital do not have consultants, who assist in the trainings of the residents doctors and treating patients.
He denied that government has met their demands, saying that government was just playing to the gallery.
The Anambra state commissioner for Health Dr. Vincent Okpala who spoke to Daily Trust on the issues on Wednesday admitted that many medical professionals had left institution but government was working on revising the trend.
According to him, the state government has come up with a good package that would make the doctors to stay and also attract better brains to the college.
“Government has supplied modern equipment to the college and very soon those who left would like to come back,” he said.
