THE Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association (MDCAN) has called for lasting solutions, through patient-centred leadership, to end lingering inter-professional disharmony among different groups of professionals in the health sector.

Prof. Titus Ibekwe, Head, Department of ENT, Head and Neck, University of Abuja Teaching Hospital (UATH), made the call on Tuesday in Ibadan.

Ibekwe spoke at the opening ceremony of the Annual General Meeting of MDCAN, University College Hospital (UCH) Chapter, Ibadan on Tuesday.

He said that the nation’s health system should be based on team work to deliver the best possible healthcare services to all Nigerians.

“The purpose of today’s lecture is to tell ourselves what are those things that we have not done right in order to achieve maximally for our country.

“Having a patient-oriented leadership will ensure that all Nigerians, irrespective of class or status, can easily access qualitative healthcare.

“The misconception that doctors lord it over other professionals has created an atmosphere of mistrust.

“All members of the team are equally valuable and essential to delivery of healthcare services and effective healthcare teams have been linked to an increase in job satisfaction and a more productive workforce,” Ibekwe said.

In his remarks, Prof. Temitope Alonge, the UCH CMD, urged various groups of healthcare professionals in the country to work in harmony for the progress of the health sector.

Alonge said that every healthcare professional have the responsibility to maintain the ethics laid down by each profession.

He said that it must respect the limitations of the profession by working in harmony with others for the wellbeing of the patients.

Earlier, Dr Victor Makanjuola, the Chairman, MDCAN-UCH, said that unhealthy inter-professional rivalry among the various groups in the health sector contributed to the dysfunction and poor service delivery.

Makanjuola called on all healthcare professionals to come together as one in order to build a strong health workforce and achieve the common goal of providing qualitative healthcare services.

“The cycle of strikes by different groups of professionals at different times has not benefitted any group, things have to change.

“With tolerance and respect toward one another, we can form a formidable coalition of health workers such that when we make our demands we can get results, improve our standard of living and have better working conditions.

“A united workforce is more likely to achieve its goals without resorting to incessant strike than a disharmonious one,” he said. (NAN)

– Sept. 25, 2018 @ 16:45 GMT |