The Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) at Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso, has listed conditions for effective tackling of the COVID-19 in Oyo State.
SEE ALSO: COVID-19: UBTH Commences Mass Production of Sanitizers for Staff
The conditions were contained in a statement jointly signed by the association’s President, Dr Abraham Akinbola, and General Secretary, Dr Abubakar Usman.
The statement said the conditions were generated from a thorough observation of the situation and facilities available to combat the deadly virus.
It urged the state government to as a matter of urgency make provision for adequate and appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), including Hazmats’s suit for health workers combating the virus across the state.
The statement also called for the upgrading of the Isolation Centre at the teaching hospital in Ogbomoso to accommodate more patients while adequate arrangement should be made to improve manpower at the hospital.
It added that the Virology Laboratory in the College of Health Sciences of the hospital in Ogbomoso needed to be upgraded to Biosafety level 3.
“Government should ensure appropriate personnel are engaged to help the state government, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and WHO in the fight against this pandemic,” it said.
It called for proper appreciation of health workers in the state as recently done by the Federal Government, saying they deserved this as frontline workers in the COVID-19 battle.
“All health workers in the country are frontline health workers, same as those in isolation centres.
“A group life insurance policy must be put in place to cater for indemnity of our members in the course of discharging their duties both during this pandemic era and thereafter,” it added.
It further called for an urgent action on the perennial challenges facing the teaching hospital such as payment of one year salary arrears.
The statement advocated the implementation of the corrected CONMESS for payment of salary to attract more doctors to the teaching hospital in Ogbomoso.
It also called for the enrollment of the hospital’s staff into the new minimum wage payment platform in the state as well as increasing the institution’s monthly subvention.
The statement said the conditions were given in the hope that Gov. Seyi Makinde would take necessary steps toward implementing them.