Health Workers Oppose Proposed Privatization Of Federal Hospitals
Health workers in Federal Hospitals have cautioned federal government against yielding to pressure to privatize all its hospitals in the country as part of measures to check migration of medical workers
The proposal has received the mass backing of the Nigeria medical association.
But the joint health sector workers union and the assembly of healthcare professionals, in a joint statement, said the policy, whether concession or privatization, would be counter-productive.
Acting national chairman, Mathew Ajinotu warns that the planned concession, privatization or mutilated PPP policy would be an invitation to morbidity and mortality.
He said the proposal was not in the interest of the Nigerian workers, and would compromise the lives if most Nigerians, as well as worsening the existing problems in the health sector.
According to him, the Buhari administration initiated the move with the setting up of a 24 member health reform committee headed by former vice president Yemi Osinbajo to consider the proposal.
He, however, said the membership of the committee was skewed against health workers who were allotted three slots against 18 medical doctors.
Meanwhile, the National President of the Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals, Comrade Kamal Ibrahim said privatising federal tertiary hospitals will create more hardship for Nigerians in accessing healthcare.
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According to him, “Privatising public hospitals is not the solution to the problems in federal health institutions, and we will resist the plan to privatise the hospitals.
We will keep telling the government the true picture of what is happening. Some of the reasons we are having problems in the health sector are due to poor leadership; those managing the hospitals lack the qualities to lead, and they fail to comply with the guidelines and circulars to make things work.
“Others are underutilisation of other professionals in the federal health institutions, inadequate infrastructures, poor financial management of the revolving fund and biased leadership style.
“So, the solutions to adequate service delivery in the federal health institutions are for the government to open the leadership of the hospitals to all qualified health care professionals.
The government should direct all medical directors to adhere to and implement all operations guidelines and government circulars, the government must increase funding for the hospitals, and allow other healthcare specialists to operate to the fullest.
“If you privatise the hospitals, people will not be able to afford health care. Currently, a larger percentage of those who are sick cannot come to the hospital because of the high cost of treatment in the public health sector. So, privatising it will worsen the situation, and we do not support the move at all,” Kamal said.
