The 18 medical officers carrying out their house job training at the Specialists Hospital, Gombe, have lamented the alleged non-payment of their salaries by the Gombe State government.
It was learnt that the medical officers, who graduated from the College of Medical Sciences of the Gombe State University (GSU), were retained by the state government in July to do their house job training at the Specialists Hospital, Gombe.
However, about five months after their engagement, the young doctors are yet to start receiving the N165,000 doctors’ salary, they were promised at the beginning of the training.
Speaking on behalf of the affected doctors, Dr Kabiru Abdullahi, told North East Trust yesterday that they were employed and provided with accommodation at the Specialists Hospital, Gombe, but for about five months they have not received the new salary promised to them.
He said what they are receiving currently was the monthly medical student’s allowance of N33,000.
According to him, it is not part of their bond agreement with the state government to do their house job at the Specialists Hospital, “But out of patriotism seeing the huge amount spent to upgrade the hospital,which made the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) gave its approval to specialists hospital to start the housemanship programme, we agreed to do it, even when our colleagues are being paid N187,000 at federal tertiary hospitals.”
Dr Abdullahi lamented that the unfortunate situation made it difficult for them to attend to other family obligations and concentrate on their jobs.
He regretted that the bad treatment meted out to them will discourage other new doctors graduating from the GSU and other universities to do their house job training with the state government, a situation, he said will affect healthcare delivery in the state.
“Already four doctors have already left for greener pasture elsewhere because they have family and relatives to support and the paltry stipend they receive cannot sustain them,” he said.
He added that they have on several occasions approached the Hospital Management Board and the state’s Ministry of Health, “but to no avail’”
However, the Commissioner of Information and Culture, Mr Julius Ishaya Lepes, told North East Trust that the delay in paying the doctors was due to an existing civil service rule.
According to him, the rule stipulated that the house officers doing internship have to serve for six months before they could start receiving salaries, in order to check the issue abscondment by some of them.
Mr Lepes assured the doctors that if the civil service rules make provision for payment of arreas, they doctors will be paid their cumulative six months salaries at the end of the six months period.
