The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has asked all doctors currently engaged in one service withdrawal or the other to sacrifice all interests and respond positively to the health emergency posed by the outbreak of coronavirus.
The association urged government to provide all necessary personal protective equipment to different hospitals so that health personnel can adequately and appropriately manage their patients.
Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Friday, the President of NMA, Dr. Francis Faduyile said: “In line with the above, we direct all medical association that have declared industrial actions against their management to suspend all actions as the national leadership of NMA shall take over the dispute and interact with the different organs and agencies of government.”
The NMA president also charged doctors and other health professionals to ensure that they observe international best practice when treating patients.
“As a professional body saddled with the responsibility of caring for humanity, we have taken into cognizance efforts being made by our government at different levels and we wish to commend their efforts so far.
”All medical personnel have been directed to respond positively to this national emergency. We call on all doctors in both private and public health facilities to be at their duty post to promptly treat Nigerians who reported to their hospitals,” he said.
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Faduyile used the opportunity to request all states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to set up isolation wards and upgrade the existing ones to ensure proper treatment of those infected with Covid-19.
He said that NMA has directed state chapters to set up a five-man committee of health professionals to monitor the level of preparedness and management of hospitals.
THISDAY