‘Rivalry hindering assent to National Health Bill’

Rivalry among health workers in Nigeria has been hindering assent to the National Health Bill, a former member of the House of Representatives, Dr. Wale Okediran, has said.

Okediran who noted that the rivalry had negatively affected the country’s health care delivery system recalled that the health bill had been passed on two separate occasions but could not be assented to due to pressure from health workers who feel that some of their colleagues are more favoured.

He spoke in Ilorin yesterday at the 2014 professional initiation ceremony for the new medical doctors of the University of Ilorin.

Okediran, also a medical doctor and writer, said the health profession should be seen as a team work, adding that no profession is superior to others.

He said: “In fact, the present health bill before the National Assembly has been passed on two separate occasions, but on each occasion whenever the president wants to assent to the bill protests will come from health workers saying doctors have been too favoured in the bill. The current bill with the president should have been assented to since but because of pressure from members of the health team.

Delivering a lecture titled, “Serving three Masters: The Interplay between Medicine, Literature and Politics”, he urged the new doctors to work as a team with other health workers and professionals.