Uduaghan seeks NMA elders intervention to moderate excesses of young doctors
Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan has called on elders in the medical profession to be more active in the affairs of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) so as to be able to impact positively on the image of the profession.
Dr Uduaghan, who made the call when the President and Executive members of the NMA paid him a courtesy call in Asaba yesterday, said the call has become necessary given acts of some doctors which tended to paint the profession in bad light.
Dr. Uduaghan said he was not 'comfortable' with the actions and conducts of some younger doctors in the profession particularly his encounters with them as Governor of Delta State.
He said he would prefer a situation where the elders in the profession would be role models and exhibit exemplary conducts for the younger doctors to emulate.
He particularly enjoined elders in the profession to moderate the activities of the younger ones to protect the image of what he termed the oldest profession in the country, saying: 'Let us not dent our image. We should be cautious of our actions and attitudes because this is our profession and any little thing could paint the profession bad.'
The governor however called on members of the National Executive of the Association to be vibrant and speak out on national issues as such contributions was capable of shaping development in the country.
He told them to constantly draw attention to flash points in the polity and proffer solutions that would shape the destiny of the nation.
Dr. Uduaghan charged them to brainstorm and critically access the health sector and provide a sustainable roadmap that would improve health care delivery in the country.
He promised to continue to sustain the current tempo of healthcare delivery in the state, explaining that the free maternal healthcare and free medical care for children from 0-5 years of age was designed to build a highly potent human capital in the state.
'We are interested in the development of the individual from conception to death. So what we are doing in the state is to provide free maternal healthcare for our pregnant women and free health care delivery for 0-5 year old children to enable us build a formidable human capital development programme that is geared towards a state beyond oil,' he said.
He explained that the Delta State Teaching Hospital, Oghara was partnering with the University of Texas to ensure that in the next 14-16 months it would be able to carry out renal transplants.
Speaking further he said a lot of achievements have been made in the medical field by the Delta State Teaching Hospital, Oghara and has helped Nigerians to seek medical attention in the state rather than travelling outside the country.
In a brief address, the President of the Nigerian Medical Association, Dr. Osahon Enabulele said that the one week health summit was for medical practitioners to brainstorm and chart a way forward to improve health care delivery in the country.
Dr. Enbulele stated that the summit was a historic assignment to enable the association make advancements in the health sector and impact on the health status of Nigerians.
He said that the association was ready to collaborate with the country and Delta state in order to improve on the health sector.
Dr. Enabulele commended Dr. Uduaghan for his contributions to the health sector in the state and for creating an enabling platform for the NMA in the state.
Meanwhile the state governor, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan has expressed appreciation to the Nigerian Medical Association for choosing Asaba the state capital for the 1st National Medical summit.
Dr Uduaghan, who said this when hosting delegates of the Nigerian Medical Association to a cocktail party, Sunday night, expressed the hope that the summit would open the door for improved health care delivery in the country.
He said the summit was long overdue and enjoined medical doctors to use it to make loud statements on the health of the nation.
The governor expressed happiness that the summit attracted not only Nigerians but foreigners and urged them to use the opportunity to traverse the state and savour the cultural potentials in the state.