Health
Govt agencies with threat messages to end strike – Resident doctors
The National Association of Resident Doctors has raised the alarm that it is being threatened by some government agencies to call off its ongoing strike.
This comes four days into the nationwide strike which according to the association is to protest against the failure of the Federal Government to honor their agreements, including the payment of salary arrears and indemnity for their colleagues who died in the line of COVID-19 duty.
The National President, NARD, Dr Uyilawa Okhuaihesuyi, in an interview on Thursday that even though they had the duty to save lives, they are first human beings who had needs and should not be denied their entitlements.
He said this was a fight for survival, noting that they were tired of signing a memorandum of understanding with the government as the previous ones had yielded no result.
The leadership of the association had met with the Federal Government delegation on Wednesday night, during which the government appealed that the planned strike be shelved, but the association commenced the strike on Thursday, April 1.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, had said on Friday that government would not hesitate to invoke the ‘No work no pay’ provision in the labour laws if they failed to call off the strike.
But in a telephone interview with one of our correspondents, Okhuaihesuyi said the government had not been fair, noting that since the association issued its ultimatum on January 25 and having written series of letters to the relevant ministries and agencies, nothing was done.
The development has however paralysed activities in many teaching hospitals across the country, inflicting serious hardship on Nigerians who need medical care in such institutions.
Asked if Nigerians had helped in putting pressure on the government to do what was necessary to end the stalemate and address the inadequacies in the health sector, Okhuaihesuyi said, “Nigerians are actually scared. Basically, people cannot talk because they are scared of the unknown and there is fear of being harassed.
“Since this strike started, I have received calls from many government agencies to shelve the strike. Some are in form of threats. It’s that bad. They think it is politics, forgetting that we cannot play politics with human lives. We are professionals and being a doctor means you have sworn an oath to take care of lives but when you are hungry or you become a patient, what is your fate?”
Efforts to get the NARD President to expatiate on the threats were not successful as his line could no longer be reached till press time on Saturday.
Okhuaihesuyi also said in the interview that government was unfair in the way it was treating them. He added, “Resident doctors make up about 70 per cent of all the doctors in the workforce in Nigeria. That is independent of the challenge many doctors have in securing placement for their residency programme and that is also a big challenge.
“That was why we mentioned doctors on Government Integrated Financial Management Information System platform in our communiqué. That is the platform used in paying doctors that are not fully employed in the hospitals, and so there was leakage and fraud in the platform and it was closed. That means the number of doctors on the GIFMIS platform, which was over 3,000, have all stayed for four months without being paid.
Health
OSSAP-SDGs inaugurates 20-bed health centre in Oyo community
OSSAP-SDGs inaugurates 20-bed health centre in Oyo community
The Office of Senior Special Assistant on Sustainable Development Goals has inaugurated a 20-bed primary health centre and renovated the existing primary health facility at Isokun in the Oyo West area of Oyo State.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (OSSAP-SDGs), Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, at a brief handover ceremony, thanked President Bola Tinubu for his leadership and dedication to collaborating with sub-national governments to deliver crucial interventions and accelerate the achievement of the SDGs in Nigeria.
Represented by Nura Ali Rano at the event, Orelope-Adefulire stressed the importance of the SDGs as a global call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure peace and prosperity for all by 2030.
She also spoke on the need to prioritize interventions with significant impact on multidimensional poverty, such as basic healthcare, vocational skills development and education, in alignment with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
She said strategic projects such as the Mother and Child Centre had become essential given the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Oyo Central Senator, Dr Yunus Akintunde, who facilitated the project, expressed his gratitude to President Tinubu and OSSAP-SDGs for selecting his constituency for the significant project.
He described the primary health centre as the biggest in Oyo State while emphasising the state’s commitment to fully utilising the facility, as part of a broader plan to of mitigation that will reduce the need for residents to seek medical treatment outside the constituency.
Archbishop Ayo Ladigbolu commended OSSAP-SDGs for the good job and bringing such a world-class facility to the Oyo central constituency.
Health
Physiotherapist: Cellphone, laptop use can increase dementia risk
Physiotherapist: Cellphone, laptop use can increase dementia risk
Using mobiles and laptops may increase the risk of dementia, a physiotherapist has warned.
His analysis suggests that the posture people adopt while using their devices can reduce blood flow to the brain, which leads to cognitive decline.
Research has previously shown that more time spent on cognitively passive behaviours — like watching TV — leads to an increased risk of dementia, regardless of physical activity levels. However, cognitively active passive activities — like using the computer — were associated with a lower dementia risk.
Abrahams who has reviewed research on the subject says ’emerging evidence and clinical trials have indicated the potential consequences for cognitive and neurological health’.
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“The persistent pressure on the arteries by holding your head in a forward position, as many people do when looking at their phones, can lead to a chronic reduction in the diameter of those arteries, potentially reducing the amount of blood which can reach the brain.
“Any restriction in these blood vessels may cause a decrease in blood flow to the brain, resulting in various brain-related diseases.”
According to Abrahams, Alzheimer’s disease is going to become more prevalent as the population ages, but his research points to daily habits of poor posture from staring down at our phones as a potential cause of an increase in cases.”
In his advice, he said “Hold your phone somewhere where you don’t need to bend forward. Take a positive step in your spine and brain health by using your phone when you can keep your neck in its natural alignment, and when you use a laptop, adjust your working environment to support a healthy posture.”
Physiotherapist: Cellphone, laptop use can increase dementia risk
Health
Sickle Cell Foundation, LUTH celebrate bone marrow transplant breakthrough
Sickle Cell Foundation, LUTH celebrate bone marrow transplant breakthrough
The first two Sickle Cell Disease patients admitted to the Sickle Cell Foundation of Nigeria/Lagos University Teaching Hospital, SCFN/LUTH, Bone Marrow Transplant Centre in Lagos, have been discharged and are under observation.
The patients, one paediatric and one adult, successfully underwent the first-of-its-kind Bone Marrow Transplant, BMT, in Nigeria and West Africa, heralding a groundbreaking achievement for Nigerian healthcare.
The feat was achieved at the state-of-the-art Centre following weeks of meticulous care and preparation, including chemotherapy, blood transfusions, and bone marrow stem cells harvested from family donors, then infused into the patients.
With this achievement, the SCFN in partnership with LUTH is the first non-profit organisation in Africa to lead a comprehensive bone marrow transplant initiative for sickle cell disorder.
The milestone marks a significant step forward in the treatment of sickle cell disease and other blood disorders and positions Nigeria as a hub in West Africa for advanced medical care particularly in hematology-oncology.
The Centre, equipped with advanced technology and staffed by highly skilled medical professionals, provides a comprehensive range of services for patients undergoing bone marrow transplants, even as no less than 127 potentially qualified patients are lined up to undergo the procedure.
The achievement is particularly significant for Nigeria, which has one of the highest burdens of SCD globally. Before the establishment of the center, Nigerian patients seeking bone marrow transplants had no option but to seek treatment abroad, often incurring significant costs and facing challenges related to access and affordability.
One of the mothers of the discharged patients said, “Our Bone Marrow Transplant experience has been remarkable, filled with hope and certainty. I felt confident in the exceptional care we received at the Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria/LUTH BMT Centre. From the moment of admission to discharge, the medical staff provided round-the-clock attention,” said the mother of one of the discharged patients.
In the views of the Chairman, Board of Directors. Sickle Cell Foundation of Nigeria, Chief Tunde Afolabi, SCFN’s journey is far from over.
Sickle Cell Foundation, LUTH celebrate bone marrow transplant breakthrough
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