COOUTH: Our strike goes on until Obiano meets our demands – MDCAN chairman

AWKA, Anambra, Nigeria -Chairman of Medical and Dental Consultants (MDCAN) at Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Teaching Hospital  ( COOUTH), Awka Anambra state, Dr Chukwudi Okani has  said the teaching hospital is on a steady  decline and that they are determined to reclaim it now  or never.

According to him,the ongoing indefinite strike embarked upon by  his members would continue  until government meet their demands.
Recall that members of the union had on midnight of November 30, 2019 embarked on an indefinite strike action to demand for improve working condition, especially  salary and  provisions of working facilities.

Dr. Okani who spoke  to our  correspondent in Awka Anambra state capital said the state government and the management of the teaching hospital are not serious  in addressing the multiple challenges facing the teaching hospital. He stated that there is no going back on the strike action, because it is  meant to reposition the teaching hospital for greatness.

” The only thing that can make us call off the strike is when government meet our demands by  addressing the challenges’ he said.
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 payment of 70 per cent of the revised CONMESS as agreed at the committee level” he said. According to him, many qaulified medical professionals have left the institution to others places where facilities and better condition of service are available.

Okani said the teaching hospital is rapidly declining due lack of personnels and better working condition.He said the COOUTH has the worst condition of service in the whole of Nigeria and urged Governor Willie Obiano to immediately intervene to save it from imminent collapse as  the crisis rocking institution was capable of destroying it further.

“This is the only teaching hospital in Anambra state and the state government cannot effectively put it in order, pay livable wages to the workers to retain the good brains in the hospital who are leaving for other institutions” 

In the last one year, the teaching hospital has lost over 46 medical doctors both residents and consultants due to poor management and poor working condition ” he said. He also disclosed  that most of the departments in the teaching hospital do not have consultants, who assist in the trainings of the residents doctors and treating patients. He also told starconnectmedia.com that they were not on strike for the sake of strike but for the improvement of the teaching hospital for the good of  people, especially the patients .

He said it is because of the patients that warning strike was issued to the government and management with hope they  would listen and see reason to improve on the institution but they failed to address the  challenges. He said that government had severally failed on its promises  to improve on the working condition of the medical doctors in COOUTH.

“We cannot be teaching medical students and attending to patients without facilities and good working condition. This is the time to get it right in the teaching hospital, some people are just here to look for another place to go because of poor working condition and we cannot pretend as if  nothing is happening” he said.

Recall that MDCAN, had on November 5 issued an ultimatum that it would embark on indefinite strike on November 30 over non implantation of consolidated medical salary scale (CONMESS). Anambra government has said it had met the demands of the doctors including diagnostics and Conditions of Service for COOUTH which guaranteed their promotions.​

Mr C-Don Adinuba, Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment also said the government gave the ​ doctors more than the 70 per cent increase they demanded.

“I want to say that this statement has been overtaken by events because few days ago  government approved all their demands including more than 70 per cent of salary which they demanded,” he said.

Okani reacting said, nobody has met their demand. “We have not seen any ​ memo about government position on this, our strike stands and continues until we see a reflection of 70 per cent of revised CONMESS in our salaries. What we want to see is a salary that is comparable to what consultant doctors elsewhere in Nigeria are earning”, he said.