By Archibong Jeremiah, House Of Assembly Correspondent
The Chairman House Committee on Health, Cross River State House of Assembly, Hon. Ekpo, Ekpo Bassey has called on the management of the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, UCTH Calabar to find a middle ground with the striking resident doctors of the institution by responding to their demands which he said are legitimate.
Hon. Ekpo Ekpo made the call recently while speaking with our House of Assembly Correspondent in his office in Calabar. He described the absence of the resident doctors as a catastrophe which if not nipped swiftly can cripple the health system in the State, especially with the fact that student doctors in practice who are the future of our medical society are losing gravely.
The legislator divulged that after hearing from the striking doctors in a closed door meeting, the committee sympathized with the doctors but beckoned them to look beyond their demands taking into consideration the lives of the people put on the line of danger and the students deprived of learning which is harmful not just to them but the entire Cross River State and Nigeria.
Bassey further disclosed that the Committee on several occasions made attempts to parley with the management of the institution to no avail.
The member representing Bakassi State constituency also threw his weight behind the subcontracting of the management of some State government owned General Hospitals to private firms maintaining that though his committee has not gotten full details of the outsourcing, he has no qualms, adding “our interest is how well it is been applied in the interest of Cross Riverians”.
He guaranteed that his committee will work in tandem with the health vision of the Ben Ayade administration as well as ensure that relevant legislative framework needed in the health sector is provided in the best interest of Cross Riverians.
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