Lagos health workers want review of hazard allowance

The Medical Guild, Lagos State, has called on the government to review upwardly, the health workers’ hazard allowance, which has remained N5,000 for more than 30 years.

The guild’s chairman, Dr Sa’eid Ahmad, made the call in Lagos on Sunday at a press conference to intimate the public on its forthcoming Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference, titled, ‘Existential challenges of medical personnel retention and resources management in an emerging world-class health system; the real issues and the Lagos panacea’ which commences on Monday (today).

Ahmad also urged the government to focus on the upgrade of existing medical facilities and medical human resources retention strategies.

“Upward review of health workers hazard allowance, which has remained N5, 000 for more than 30 years nationally, has taken way too long for Lagos State to consider and implement.

“We hereby call for immediate implementation of the hazard allowance structure based on the consolidated basic medical/health salary as proposed by the medical and health unions to the Lagos State Subcommittee on Review of Hazard Allowance,” he said.

Ahmad also said next year’s budgetary allocation to health must meet the World Health Organisation’s minimum of 15 per cent.

He said, “Rather than spend this budget on ‘constructing new heath institutions,’ existing ones should be upgraded with emphasis on the medical human resources retention strategies.

“Drugs don’t prescribe themselves and surgeries are not performed by concrete and paints. Doctors, humans do.”

He disclosed that the keynote address would be delivered by the state Commissioner for Health, Prof Akin Abayomi, on Monday while free medical outreach would be provided to the officials of the Lagos State Transport Management Agency on December 7, 2022.

Ahmad emphasised that there must be a clear, accessible medical indemnity for medical and health workers.

“Too many die or suffer in ailments with precarious soundest of financial support. In the meantime, no government-employed medical/health worker must be made to pay for treatment received in a government hospital,” he said.