Over 900 doctors, nurses, others, may lose jobs as Garki Hospital concessionary agreement lapses

• FCTA gives management notice to vacate facility
• Nobody gave us chance to deliver on COVID-19, says NPHCDA

Except for a last minute intervention, over 900 medical and health workers at the Garki Hospital in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) may be out of jobs.

This followed the expiration of the Public Private Partnership (PPP) 15-year concessionary agreement signed in 2007 between the NISA Premier – the current managers of Garki Hospital and the FCT Administration.

The 900 workers comprise of 21 consultants, 113 medical doctors, 24 house officers, 159 nurses, 96 patient care attendants, pharmacists, medical record officers, laboratory scientists and other technicians.

However, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) administration had on March 1, 2022 given the hospital management notice to vacate and hand over the facility to it by April 1, 2022.

It was gathered that the management of the hospital had written three letters to the FCT administration appealing for a review of the concession agreement but did not receive any respond until on March 1, 2022 when the FCT administration wrote a letter informing the hospital management of its intention to take over the facility.

BUT reacting to the directive of the FCT Administration for the NISA Premier to vacate the facility, Chairman, Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) FCT Chapter, Dr. Enema Amodu, expressed concern over the short notice and called on the FCT administration to rescind its decision for the sake of the workers of the hospital and patients who are on long term intensive care.

Amodu said if the FCT administration could not renew the concession agreement, it should give the hospital management at least 12 months for it to plan and vacate the premises.

Also, the Senior Special Assistant to the FCT Minister on Media and Strategic Communication, Malam Abubakar Sani, said that the relationship between the hospital management and the FCT administration was like a tenant and his landlord, which will be resolved amicably.

IN another development, the Executive Secretary of the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Faisal Shuaib, has said that when the COVID-19 virus hit Nigeria, there was a high level of mistrust about the ability and capacity of the agency to effectively deliver the vaccination even among the members of the National Assembly.

According to him, “nobody gave the NPHCDA the chance to deliver on COVID-19 and nobody gave us the chance to be have the best COVID-19 programme in Africa.”

Shuaib, who spoke at the 2021 members of staff productivity awards and send-forth ceremony yesterday in Abuja, noted: “When the agency started the vaccination programme, one of the lowest points was when the National Assembly and a number of legislators said that NPHCDA does not have the capacity to deliver COVID-19 vaccination despite how the agency worked together to eradicate Wild Polio Virus but they said this one is different.”