The Minister for Health, Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu has said that the Federal Government did not sack 16,000 doctors as is being widely reported by the media.
Speaking with State House correspondents, Chukwu clarified that the directive was for the suspension of the residency programme in Federal hospitals.
“They were not sacked, it is a matter of interpretation. For example, if someone while still working actively dies, or whether that person resigned or was dismissed or retired or terminated, all mean different things in the public service.
“But the end point is that the person is no longer working. “I want us to put things in perspective. Government did not sack anybody, it is true that they themselves have not been working for almost two months, except those in private hospitals.
“Resident doctors in both federal and state hospitals have not been working for almost two months now, and they have not participated in the control of this Ebola Virus Diseas, they have not played any role.
“So even if government had not taken any decision, they are not working and I don’t know why suddenly the media started taking interest in them. They are not part of this success story.
“But what happened is like in the aviation industry where when you buy a ticket and you fail to show up, they say, ‘no show,’ and they even penalise you. So there is no show of the resident doctors and even government is still paying them.
“Sometimes, we need to think deeply about what we do to ourselves. government says, why can’t we use this period to appraise properly the residency programme and come up with something that can help the country.
“Training of a doctor must be done properly. They have an allotted time to acquire skills. Anybody can pass the theoretical exams, but has he acquired the skills? We need to be honest with ourselves.
“If you suspend any course do you keep students redundant? You give them opportunity if they feel you are wasting their time they can apply for other courses.”
He stated that government’s decision only affects resident doctors in federal hospitals and it is not a permanent thing ” I believe we will quickly appraise this situation and hopefully government will resume residency programme because honestly we need to train doctors in the specialist.”
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