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The President of the National Association of Resident Doctors, NARD, Dr Mohammed Suleiman, says doctors will no longer work under slave-like conditions.
Suleiman gave this warning on Thursday while speaking in an interview on Arise Television.
He asked members to limit call duties to a maximum of 24 hours beginning October 1.
He also explained that the new directive is part of measures to address burnout, poor welfare, and mass exodus of doctors from Nigeria.
Suleiman also stated that the association has issued a 30-day ultimatum to the federal government to act on its demands.
“If you look at the statistics, in the last 10 years, we have lost close to 15,000 to 16,000 doctors from this country to other countries.
“Ten years ago, the federal government, due to one of our actions, sacked about 15,000 doctors on one strike. But they brought all of us back,” he said.
He warned that the shortage has forced doctors to take on unsafe workloads.
According to him, the decision to limit calls followed NARD’s annual general meeting in Katsina, where members unanimously resolved that doctors are not slaves and must prioritise their wellbeing.
In another news, The Association of Resident Doctors, ARD, at the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital, COOUTH, Awka in Anambra has suspended its seven-day warning strike.
This is contained in a statement signed by the ARD-COOUTH President and Secretary, Dr Joy Okwumuo and Dr Chukwubuike Ifekudu, on Saturday in Awka.
The Eastern Updates reports that the resident doctors embarked on the warning strike on Thursday to press for better working conditions.
The statement instructed members to resume their duties effective from 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, as the government had approved their demands.
