The Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun has disclosed that the government was surprised that Resident Doctors of the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu, decided to embark on industrial strike without due consultations, despite government’s efforts to address the challenges of the institution.
Abiodun who made this known in his office, Oke-Mosan, while receiving the report of the Administrative Panel to Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH), headed by Dr. Yemi Onabowale, said his administration had approved the appointment of eighty-two resident doctors and other medical staff, based on an interim report received from the Panel.
“I was quite relieved when we received an interim recommendation that we should commence the recruitment of medical personnel, among which were the resident doctors we have been agitating for. We were quite relieved that the go ahead was from you and that was the reason we did not waste time in its implementation.
“Unfortunately, the announcement of that recommendation was around the same time when the doctors had embarked on strike, which now appeared as if it was their action that generated our reaction, which is not the case”, he said.
He noted that his administration would not allow anyone or group of persons to hold government to ransom, urging the resident doctors to call off their industrial action and focus on their primary responsibility of saving lives, as government was poised to take the institution back to its former glory.
The helmsman further said his administration was also concerned about all other health institutions across the State, stressing that it was important to encourage people to have confidence in the Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and make it the preferred choice.
“We must find a way to instil confidence in our people, to reassure them that the facility of first choice should be a Primary Health Care Centre, this will also allow us gather data of the people that live in the immediate environment of the health care centres’’, he explained.
Earlier in his remarks, Chairman of the Administrative Panel, Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Dr. Yemi Onabowale appreciated the Governor for approving the immediate appointment of 82 resident doctors and other medical personnel for the teaching hospital, as well as giving members of the Panel the opportunity to contribute their quota to the development of the health sector, expressing the committee’s confidence in OOUTH’s efficient service delivery, if the recommendations were fully implemented.
The Administrative Panel to Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, had Dr. Folabi Ogunlesi, Dr. Kehinde Ololade, Alhaji Wasiu Lawal, Prince Femi Akinwunmi, Mr. Olumide Obube and Mr. Akinola Adekunle as members, while Dr. Solomon Sokunbi, served as the Secretary.
