The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has said the Federal Government is yet to respond to its directive stopping doctors from taking call duty beyond 24 hours.

NARD President, Dr Mohammad Usman Suleiman, disclosed this in response to questions from The Guardian on Wednesday.

He explained that the association had directed all its members across the country to stop continuous call duty beyond 24 hours, adding that monitoring would be done through Chief Residents of Departments and Centre Presidents in 91 centres nationwide.

Suleiman said, “No response so far,” when asked if the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare had reacted to the directive.

He stressed that the workload was already affecting patient care. “The excess call duty is already taking its toll on patient care as it is,” he added.

The NARD President said the association’s demand was for the ministry to urgently act on the matter. “It is why we are calling on the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to look into this,” he said.

Suleiman also noted that more welfare measures for doctors would be communicated in the coming weeks.