The federal government has directed newly appointed Medical Directors of Federal Medical Centres across the country to make patient care their overriding priority and to maintain peaceful industrial relations within their institutions, warning that any situation in which patients were turned away from federal hospitals would not be tolerated.
The directive was issued by the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Iziaq Salako, while presenting appointment letters to six newly appointed Medical Directors in Abuja. A statement confirming the development was released by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.
Salako told the new appointees that maintaining harmony within hospital environments was fundamental to effective service delivery and urged them to adopt open-door policies with health worker unions, engaging consistently with labour groups to resolve grievances before they escalated into industrial disputes.
“Keep an open-door policy with unions and continuously engage them. Whatever issues can be resolved early through dialogue should be addressed promptly,” he said.
The minister also disclosed that the ministry had established a task force on clinical governance and patient safety, directing the new Medical Directors to replicate similar accountability systems within their own institutions and to put in place mechanisms for capturing and acting on patient feedback.
Addressing staffing constraints, Salako urged the appointees to make use of the federal government’s fast-track waiver system for recruitment, criticising previous Medical Directors for being slow to take advantage of the mechanism. “We are challenged in terms of human resources, but there is now a faster process for employment. Some Medical Directors are slow to act; we expect you to do better,” he said.
Those being reappointed for a second term were advised to significantly raise their performance benchmarks, while first-time appointees were urged to justify the confidence President Tinubu had placed in them.
Permanent Secretary Daju Kachollom, represented at the event, acknowledged that gaps remained across the health sector and called on the new directors to demonstrate clear improvement in performance and a stronger commitment to the wellbeing of Nigerians.
On behalf of the newly appointed directors, Evinly Nzeribe of the Federal Medical Centre in Okigwe pledged commitment to elevating healthcare delivery and taking the government’s health agenda to greater heights. Adamu Atterwharmie of the Federal Medical Centre in Birnin Kudu, speaking on behalf of those reappointed, similarly pledged continued loyalty to government policy and effective implementation of directives.
