The Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN), Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital (COOUTH) chapter, has issued a 21-day ultimatum to the Anambra State Government, demanding the immediate implementation of their pending welfare and salary adjustments. The group warned that failure to meet their demands would lead to a total shutdown of medical services in the hospital.
Addressing journalists at the hospital premises on Friday, the MDCAN Chairman, Dr. Amaechi Nwachukwu, and Secretary, Prof. Joseph Umeobika, said the ultimatum would run from October 20 to November 21, giving room for the forthcoming Anambra governorship election. They expressed frustration over the state government’s failure to respond to their long-standing grievances despite several meetings, petitions, and courtesy visits.
The consultants accused the government of deliberately excluding them from the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) 2024, which, according to them, is the approved national standard for medical practitioners in Nigeria. Nwachukwu explained that while resident doctors in the hospital had been placed on the proper salary scale, consultants, who are their superiors, were still being paid on the outdated structure. “It is confusing and unfair that two sets of doctors in the same hospital are being paid under different salary structures,” he lamented.
MDCAN threatened to stop all training activities, recall resident doctors posted to other institutions, suspend ongoing research, and discharge all patients if their demands are not met. The group warned that such action would cripple medical education and healthcare delivery in the state, delaying the graduation of medical students and disrupting patient care. Nwachukwu added that many consultants had already left the teaching hospital due to poor working conditions, worsening the brain drain in the sector.
While acknowledging that their planned strike could be viewed politically due to its timing, the consultants insisted that their concerns were purely professional. They appealed to Governor Charles Soludo to act swiftly to avert a crisis that could lead to loss of lives and further weaken the state’s healthcare system. “We remain hopeful that the government will do the right thing before November 21,” the consultants concluded.
