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Africcon Report:NMA directs doctors to withdraw services from UMTH
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The Nigerian Medical Association on Friday directed all the doctors at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital to withdraw from the hospital environment.
The directive was contained in a statement signed by the NMA National President, Dr. Osahon Enabulele, and made available to newsmen in Abuja on Friday, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.
The NMA national leadership said the directive would remain in force pending when the safety of its members could be guaranteed by the Federal Government, with other necessary conditions met.
NAN reports that on Thursday, doctors, including the Chief Medical Director and health workers at UMTH, were assaulted by policemen.
This was as a result of the inability of the hospital mortuary to accommodate the bodies of slain policemen brought in from Bama in Borno State.
As a result of the assault, some health workers and patients sustained varying degrees of injury, including a fractured femur sustained by a resident doctor, while hospital property were vandalised.
“This increasing act of physical assault on medical doctors and other health workers in various health facilities across the country is extremely worrisome, despicable, condemnable, and most unfortunate.
“It clearly revalidates the fact that hospitals in Nigeria are no longer safe or sacred places,” the statement said.
Enabulele, however, called on the Inspector-General of Police and the Borno Commissioner of Police to restrain their officers and men from further assaulting health workers.
He also called on the Federal Government to ensure that the errant policemen are brought to book, with adequate compensation paid to the injured and traumatised victims.
Enabulele restated the NMA’s call on government at all levels to urgently provide adequate security in all healthcare facilities in Nigeria.
“This will halt the increasing spate of violent attacks, kidnapping, robbery and assassination of doctors and other health workers,” he said.
He sympathised with all the victims and urged the Federal Government to take full responsibility for their treatment.
