UCTH appeals to FG to sanitize health sector

by Inyali Peter, Calabar

Amid efforts by President MohammaduBuhari to instill discipline into the Federal Government agencies in the country, the Chief Medical Director (CMD) University ofCalabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH), Doctor Thomas Agan, has appealed to the government to also sanitize the health sector.

The CMD who spoke Tuesday, September 15, during an interactive session with newsmen in Calabar lauded the efforts of the federal government to end the two months old industrial action embarked upon by resident doctors of the hospital.

Agan further apologized to the general public over the damage caused by the industrial action even as he reiterated the commitment of the management to ensure that they maintain a robust relationship with the resident doctors to avoid further re-occurrence.

Speaking about the introduction of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) by the federal government, Agan noted that although the intention is to ensure accountability and transparency in financial management, the federal ministry of health as well as other ministries needs to expedite ways to ensure it does not affect the productivity of staff.

He maintained that until details of how to operate is released by the government, the health sector, especially, is bound to have challenges on how to access funds in emergencies.

According to him, the issue that led to the two-month-old strike by resident doctors is not peculiar to the UCTH, but it’s nation-wide, bordering on welfare. “We are very sorry for the damage this might have caused, and we promise to do whatever we can to ensure that peace is maintained,” he said.
He also commended the federal government who fought tirelessly to ensure peace return to the tertiary hospitals across the country, and he appealed to President Buhari to extend the change his government represents to the health sector.

“The TSA is a creation of the federal government to bring about accountability and transparency in financial management but until we are given detail explanation on how to function, we are bound to have some challenges,” he said.