Lifeline Centre for Medical and Health Rights Advocacy (LICMEHRA) has commended medical and health workers who are at the frontline at this time of COVID-19 pandemic.
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The President, Prof. Uwakwe Abugu, in his statement made available to TheNigeriaLawyer, said that there is a need for the government to take more action to improve health care delivery in the country.
According to him as Nigeria joins the rest of the world to celebrate workers on this year’s International Workers’ Day, Lifeline Centre wishes to celebrate and to commend the courage, dedication, selflessness, ethical best practice, care and skills being displayed so far by the medical and health workers in the care and treatment of COVID -19 pandemic patients worldwide, and particularly in Nigeria.
“The indispensable role of our medical and health workers in the detection, testing, tracing, isolation, care, and treatment of COVID -19 pandemic and eventual control and end to the pandemic cannot be overemphasized. The government must take the care, safety, and welfare of the medical and health workers as an utmost priority to ensure that they are healthy and strong enough to take care of the rest of us.
“However, we note that so far, the government has not done enough to secure the lives and safety of health workers in Nigeria. It is on record that about 113 health workers in Nigeria are now in different isolation centres across Nigeria having been infected in the line of duty while one doctor is reported to have died.
Also, the recent deaths of over 640 persons in Kano from unknown diseases are partly attributed to the fact that many of them were turned back from several government hospitals by health workers who claimed that they lacked enough Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to secure themselves. The implication is that the rate of death would have been reduced to the barest minimum if the health workers had enough PPE.
“It is also regrettable that government has not been observing the international protocol for admitting patients in hospitals to safeguard the health and safety of health workers in the fight against COVID -19 pandemic. In cases of widespread infectious disease, epidemic or pandemic as we have now, officers of Centre for Disease Control are supposed to be posted and stationed as first desk officer or first contact to see every incoming patient to determine whether such person should move to the traditional hospital admission and ward care or should be isolated immediately at the slightest suspicion of a dangerous infectious disease. This ensures that the health workers are shielded from direct contact with a prospective patient without appropriate PPE. There are so many cases in Nigeria where patients who were admitted directly into wards had turned out to be positive to COVID -19 after spending several days and infecting health workers in the wards.
“We call on the Presidential Task Force (PTF) and the NCDC to immediately dispatch their officers to all Federal Teaching Hospitals, Specialists, and Federal Medical Centres to check and screen any prospective patient for early detection and protection of health workers.
LICMEHRA also commends the Federal Government for taking out insurance policies for the first time in Nigeria in favour fo some 5,000 health workers who are directly involved in the care and treatment of COVID -19 patients.
“We note, however, that the number of health workers covered so far is grossly inadequate and unacceptable. Much as all health workers may not be covered at the same time and immediately, considering the strain on government finances, we urge the government to increase the number of coverage, especially since more and more health workers are being trained to join in coping with the exponential rise in COVID -19 cases.
“We also note that the amounts of the insurance policy which graduate the sum assured from N3million, N2million to N1million, depending on the health care profession and cadre is a mockery of the value of human life. Does this mean that in the estimation of the government the value of the life of the highest and best medical or health worker in Nigeria is put at N3million?
“We call for the immediate upward review of the sum assured to at least N10million across all concerned health workers without distinction as to profession or cadre.
The Centre further note that the discriminatory nature of the recent increment in the hazard allowance of the health workers recently announced by the federal government which put the allowance at 60% of basic salary.
“Since the previous hazard allowance was N 5,000 across board irrespective of cadre or profession, we call on the federal government to announce an increment of the same amount as hazard allowance for all health workers across the board, especially since the basic value of human life is the same and the health workers are exposed to similar hazards irrespective of professions or cadre.
“Finally, we congratulate all Nigerian workers on the occasion this year’s international workers day and enjoin them to continue to contribute to the fight against the COVID -19 pandemic by adhering strictly to all protocols released by the authorities for the prevention of the spread of the pandemic and to also work according to rules prescribed by government for the eventual end to this enemy of humankind
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