The Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) has clarified the controversy surrounding non-payment of the salaries of 37 resident doctors.
The clarification came in a Tuesday statement signed by the Director of Administration, Dr. Babajide Grillo.
According to the statement, the doctors have not been paid their salaries because they have yet to register on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) platform mandated by the Federal Government.
The Herald had reported how a UK-based Nigerian doctor, Dr. Olufunmilayo Harvey called out the teaching hospital on Twitter early Tuesday for its failure to pay 34 resident doctors six months after their employment.
But Grillo explained that 37 resident doctors were among 200 admitted by the teaching hospital in August 2019.
He said that while the others registered and resumed immediately, the 37 deferred their resumption by two to three months.
The admin director further explained that while the first batch completed all necessary procedures including IPPIS registration, those that deferred missed the opportunity to be captured by the IPPIS team invited from Abuja.
Grillo said that the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic delayed plans to get the second batch of resident doctors captured by the IPPIS team.
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“In line with the Residency Act of 2017, all emoluments of resident doctors are paid through the IPPIS platform after each person has fulfilled certain criteria, including making themselves available for biodata capturing.
“LUTH does not pay the salary of any resident doctor and whoever alleged that LUTH has not paid the salary of residents was only being economical with the truth.
“All payments are made by the IPPIS directly from Abuja.
“LUTH truly regrets the discomfort occasioned by the delay in payment of the 37 affected resident doctors. However, it should be noted that their late resumption was the primary cause.
“We, therefore, appeal for patience till the lockdown is over and travels resume to enable the completion of the very process their group had delayed,” the statement read in part.