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PRESS BRIEFING BY THE ASSOCIATION OF MEDICAL LABORATORY SCIENTISTS OF NIGERIA, UCH IBADAN CHAPTER, HELD ON THURSDAY, 24TH MARCH, 2016 AT AMLSN UCH SECRETARIAT, IBADAN, OYO STATE.

PRESS BRIEFING BY THE ASSOCIATION OF MEDICAL LABORATORY SCIENTISTS OF NIGERIA, UCH IBADAN CHAPTER, HELD ON THURSDAY, 24TH MARCH, 2016 AT AMLSN UCH SECRETARIAT, IBADAN, OYO STATE.

Gentlemen of the press,

ALLEGED ASSAULT ON UCH RESIDENT DOCTOR: A CASE OF DEFAMATION

The attention of the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN) UCH Chapter, Ibadan has been drawn to the article being circulated in the print, social and electronic media, titled: “Assault on doctor: UCH resident doctors demand justice”; wherein an allegation of assault on a resident doctor in the Haematology Department of the UCH was made against an Assistant Chief Medical Laboratory Scientist in the same department. It is pertinent to inform the public that resident doctors in the UCH laboratory have intentionally decided to create crises in UCH by act of provocation that cannot be substantiated.

Much as the AMLSN would have loved to ignore this propaganda as it’s gradually becoming a routine practice by resident doctors in the sister profession of medicine, this time, under the aegis of Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), UCH Chapter; it behoves us as an association to let the public in on the true situation and our side of the story thus:

The resident doctor in question who has had other misunderstanding with the Asst. Chief Medical Laboratory Scientist (ACMLS) on professionalism related issues entered the laboratory and went straight for the heamatological specimen slides where they are archived in the shelve without informing the Medical Laboratory Scientists in the laboratory whose responsibility amongst others is to process, prepare, report, archive the slide and present same on request. Having observed the poor handling of the archived slides without recourse to proper documentation, the ACMLS gently advised on this approach employed by resident doctor in retrieving the archived specimen slide which could result in loss or damage to the slides and so render all effort put in by the Medical Laboratory Scientist in preparing the slides wasted with attending future challenge to the patients’ diagnosis and treatment follow up. In the presence of witnesses, the resident doctor flared up (apparently not comfortable that a Medical Laboratory Scientist could tell her what to do), pushed and poked at the nose of the Medical Laboratory Scientist with a threatPP that if she ever gave such advice she would get more violent reaction. Witnesses around tried to calm her, but she stormed out of the laboratory only to return in the company of the ‘HOD’, Haematology Department and alleged that she was assaulted. Consequently, the ACMLS was further harassed. Typical of our friends, they took this as another opportunity to blackmail and went to report the case at the nearest police station while granting press interview to call for public sympathy.

We like to place on record, that although we are used to internal resolution of events like this in the interest of peace in the sector, since they chose to bring this to the court of public opinion, may we also inform the public that we have had cases of documented and undocumented harassment and assault on Medical Laboratory Scientists in UCH by resident doctors. The most recent case of physical assault against our member (a Senior Medical Laboratory Scientist), by a resident doctor from the Pathology Department of the hospital who attacked and threatened to “gun down” the Medical Laboratory Scientist in question as he claimed to be a Major in the Nigerian Army and he is licensed to kill, which occurred on 18th February, 2016 in the presence of witnesses, is still before the management.

The ARD UCH Chapter has the habit of going to the media to lie to the public. Not too long ago, the association alleged that a resident doctor was raped in UCH. In late 2015, one of them raised an alarm on a live radio interview programme, that a female resident doctor was raped while on duty at UCH. Anybody hearing this would like to know the authenticity of this claim. So also was the programme presenter who challenged him if he was serious with what he was saying. Alas! Nothing was heard about the allegation again.

If resident doctors in UCH cry foul and demand justice, they should not thrive on lies and cheap propaganda. We challenge the association of resident doctors in UCH to provide a proof or witnesses of the acclaimed assault on the said resident doctor. Can the case of assault on the said resident doctor be established?    

                             

As it has been the case in previous events (e.g. cited above), rather than this resident doctor being the victim, she was actually the aggressor. It is therefore not surprising to read about the blackmail targeted at the Medical Laboratory Scientist from the incident as a fall out of the Medical Laboratory Scientists vs. Pathologists long standing imbroglio and the recent realities dawning on them that the days of impunity are over.  The ongoing effort by the resident doctors to attract public sympathy when indeed she is the culprit is tantamount to an offender reporting first to the police to pervert justice on the ground that she was the first complainant and this will not work because the public is well informed about their antics.

We hereby demand that the ARD in UCH:

1. Provides proof of assault on the resident doctor in question

2. Should immediately through another press briefing/interview, retract the said publication and

3. Tender apology to the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria, UCH Chapter, Ibadan for defamation and misleading report all in a bit to garner public sympathy.

AMLSN members as law-abiding healthcare professionals are known for seeking redress in court in the face of intimidation, harassment and flagrant abuse of power by our friends in the sister profession of Medicine and Surgery. We shall continually depend on the instrumentality of the laws of the land to seek justice and eventual liberation from the modern day professional slavery by the pathologists who are full of professional chauvinism.

May God bless Nigeria!!!

Signed:

ODEDOYIN, OLADAYO                                                   OGUNNIYI, ABIODUN

 CHAIRMAN                                                                      GENERAL SECRETARY

                               ODUSANYA, ‘BUKOLA

Other briefing - Lab Scientist Assaults a Medical Doctor at UCH Haematology Department

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Quotes of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa

Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa

December 1912 – January 15, 1966
Prime Minister of Nigeria (1960–1966)
By Abubakar (Nigerian Government) [CC BY-SA 3.0 or GFDL], via Wikimedia Commons

"The First of October 1960 is a date to which for two years every Nigerian has been eagerly looking forward." 

 Independence speech on 1st October 1960

 "Independence speech on 1st October 1960

Today's ceremony marks the culmination of a

process which began fifteen years ago and

has now reached a happy and successful

conclusion."

 Independence speech on 1st October 1960

"All too soon it has become

evident that for us Independence implies a

great deal more than self-government."

."

 Independence speech on 1st October 1960

"Cooperation is for each man to be true to

his religious belief and to reaffirm the basic

principles of his particular creed."

First speech of Nigerian Prime Minister at the United Nation General Assembly 7th October 1960

"Many of the new African States are, indeed,

potentially rich and should contribute to

improving the world"

First speech of Nigerian Prime Minister at the United Nation General Assembly 7th October 1960

"Economic weakness is evident in a new

country open to every kind of pressure and

results in other countries depriving its people

of the freedom to choose a form of

government which they feel suits them best"

First speech of Nigerian Prime Minister at the United Nation General Assembly 7th October 1960

"we shall not forget our

old friends"

First speech of Nigeria Prime Minister at the United Nation General Assembly 7th October 1960

"The first of these is that Africa must not be

allowed to become a battleground in the

ideology struggle"

First speech of Nigeria Prime Minister at the United Nation General Assembly 7th October 1960

"Nigeria, a large and

populous country of over 35 million, has

absolutely no territorial or expansionist

intentions"

First speech of Nigeria Prime Minister at the United Nation General Assembly 7th October 1960

"First, it is the desire of Nigeria-as I

have said already to remain on friendly

terms with all nations and to participate

actively in the work of the United Nations

Organizations."

First speech of Nigeria Prime Minister at the United Nation General Assembly 7th October 1960

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Lab Scientist Assaults a Medical Doctor at UCH Haematology Department

Press Release
On Friday, 18 March, 2016, a laboratory scientist at the Haematology department, University College Hospital assaulted a resident doctor, Dr Anyanwu-Yeiya of the same department while she was trying to retrieve a slide for review in the treatment of a cancer patient.

The matter having been brought to the attention of the Head of Department of Haematology was quickly referred to the Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee who requested the Chief Security Officer to handle the matter.

The Association of Resident Doctors, University College Hospital has stated that nothing less than justice will be tolerated in this matter as that will not be the first time her member would be assaulted by this group of health workers especially at the Laboratory Departments without the full weight of the law as contained in “Public Service Rule” applied on perpetrators.

It is high time this aggression and undue violence against resident doctors and doctors in general at the University College Hospital is fully addressed by the Hospital Management as this will no longer be tolerated by the entire body of doctors at the University College Hospital.

Dr Luqman Ogunjimi & Dr Olusegun Olaopa
President & General Secretary

By: Olaopa Olusegun
UCH,  ARD News

Streamlining Health workforce in Nigeria (Medical Laboratory Scientists/Pathologists)

The Nigeria health system which has been plagued by needless crises. Such crises are derive from the unbridled ambition of certain categories of health worker to assuming the role that is doubtfully beyond naturally allowable and morally acceptable. There are repeated episodes of 'supremacy' violence associated with her members in a bid to take law into there hands in some teaching hospitals in Nigeria, a behaviours strongly frown at in the  Nigeria Civil Service rules. If a particular workforce is associated with a particular nauseating trait then it maybe time to review the training and orientation of such category of work force.

 Wikipedia defined  a medical laboratory scientist (MLS) (also referred to as a clinical laboratory scientist or medical laboratory technologist) as a healthcare professional who performs chemical, hematological, immunologic, histopathological, cytopathological, microscopic, and bacteriological diagnostic analyses on body fluids such as blood, urine, sputum, stool, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), peritoneal fluid, pericardial fluid, and synovial fluid, as well as other specimens. Medical laboratory scientists work in clinical laboratories at hospitals, physician's offices, reference labs, biotechnology labs and non-clinical industrial labs(emphasis the author).

According to Wikipedia, Pathology  "is a branch of medical science primarily concerning the examination of organs, tissues, and bodily fluids in order to make a diagnosis of disease". Therefore a pathologist is a specialist in pathology. This is divided in clinical chemistry, medical microbiology, haematology and Morbid anatomy and histopathologist.

It would be established from these definitions that both categories of health worker work on the same 'tool' and they both work in  medical laboratories. Just as doctors and nurses in the same ward 'work' on the same patients. The doctors would not chase the nurses away and vice versa. It is working relationship that has to be sustained to ensure excellent outcome for  patients.

Although Nigeria practitioner of MLS have decided to choose the seemly glamourous name ''MLS' especially because the inclusion of the word 'medical'  the descriptive term is same as medical laboratory technologists. The Medical Laboratory Scientists (MLS) in Nigeria were Medical Laboratory Technologist(MLT) which really is  what it is even in Nigeria until a few years ago. However since anything goes in Nigeria, they were able to dubiously metamorphose to a 'status' that they want to do away with pathologists and their needed leadership in the medical laboratories in Nigeria. They want to change from the globally acceptable pattern of both pathologist  and MLS working in the laboratory and the former providing the needed leadership derived from their training. The question is should professional group merely get legally reassignment from globally acceptable job description and seeking to put into disarray the normal order in our teaching hospitals?

The MLS in Nigeria is on the same status as Medical Laboratory technologist anywhere in the world any judiciary assignment would be be alien to international best practices. Would it be morally right for  Judiciary officers get legal injunctions that turn them into lawyers overnight? In US,Canada, France and UK our dear MLS are equivalent of Medical laboratory technologist- MLT.

To  further explore these issue it would be necessary to examine the international health work force classifications.

 Continue: Streamlining Health workforce in Nigeria 2

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The unending rivalry in Nigerian health sector

It is a known fact that intra-professional rivalry is one of the issues bedeviling the Nigerian Health sector aside other issues of poor funding. etc.

Recently the issue has gotten to boiling point but the institutional memory that would be implanted in the new products of each health workforce group appears  to be eroding. The generation that don't know what and how things are have been produced. Some laboratory scientist think it is not out of place to diagnose, investigate and treat by them alone likewise some Pharmacists want to diagnose and treat in there shops.

Such unhealthy rivalry have costed Nigeria dearly. Such rivalry fought the National Health Bill(NHB) to almost standstill just because of two clauses millions we deprived of benefit of NHB. It is a recurrent factor in appointment of Health Ministers. The cacophony usually is that Minister must be anybody in health sector but must have managerial skills. Most of them would not even quote the NIM Act(the act regulate those in managerial positions) to know who a manager should. Many of such commentators would rush to cite US and UK examples forgetting such countries have statutory offices of Surgeon General and Chief Medical Officer.

The voice and agitation against the Ahmed Yayale Report has not simmered notwithstanding it is the this ugly issue the committee was meant to address.

Nigeria policy maker must look the way of International Labour Organisation(ILO) which Nigeria is a member. According to ILO the health workforce include Physicians, Nurses, midwifes,dentists,Pharmacists, laboratory workers, environmental &public health workers and health management and support staff etc. However the classification is based on skill level and skill specialization meaning all is not classified at the same pedestal. The professionals are Physicians, Nurses& Midwifes and Pharmacists while technicians and associate professionals include medical assistants, dental assistant, physiotherapists, opticians and sanitarians etc.

How gradually did our qualifications in Nigeria did not match international classification is topic for another discussion.Now there are degrees classified as associate professional internationally spending as much as 5 years seeking to be place on same pedestal as pharmacists or even doctors. 

Interestingly, those privy to Ahmed Yayale report know that the committees toe the path of international best practices. Why are people opposing International best practices?

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The Unbroken Record

On June 28th 2007, the then President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua declared his asset publicly one month after being sworn in. It was a clear departure from mere submission to Code of Conduct Bureau as required by constitution. This was even done when there was not Freedom of Information bill to force the any public spirit individual to sought the declared information.

President George W. Bush shakes hands with President Umaru Yar'Adua of Nigeria, as he welcomes him to the Oval Office Thursday, Dec. 13, 2007, at the White House. Said President Bush, "Mr. President, I am impressed by your commitment to reform, your adherence to the concept of rule of law, and your belief in transparency. And I congratulate you for being a strong leader." Source: Wiki commons

The details entailing total assets of N 856,452,892 was released through Special Adviser to the President (Communication) Mr Segun Adeniyi to the public. The information was release in fulfillment of his campaign promise.

There has been no civilian or military President  has done same while in office as a president and also in the span of time this was achieve.

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