Staffers of Osun State University Teaching Hospital (UNIOSUNTH) Osogbo, on Thursday embarked on a protest to denounce the Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement for medical services by hospital’s management.

They threatened to commence an indefinite strike action on Monday should the management of the teaching hospital proceed with its plan to privatise medical services for patients.

Speaking on behalf of the protesters, a member of National Association of Nurses and Midwives (NANM), UNIOSUNTH chapter, Olumide Faniran, berated the management of the hospital for allegedly failing to carry Medical Health Workers Unions and non academic staff unions over the purported PPP arrangement.

He recalled that despite failing to involve the unions in its proposed PPP, the management had also declined to avail its staff with the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of the new policy.

According to Faniran, “the agitation is over a Public-Private Partnership (PPP), which the leadership of the Teaching Hospital is embarking on. When you are undertaking something of that nature, you carry stakeholders along. The reverse is the case here.

“We had a meeting with them a few days ago, where we agreed that the status quo should remain. But to our surprise, they conducted interviews yesterday for the intending workers they want to engage for the private laboratory.

“Yes, they want to set up a private laboratory when we already have our own laboratory that is generating over 100 per cent revenue. The little lacuna they are now stressing is their own fault. They are asking why we failed to produce consumables and reagents.

“Another issue is the age-long rivalry between doctors and other health professionals. It has been on ground for over 10 years now, and they want to privatise all other health workers except the doctors, “he remarked.

Faniran continued: “In response, all unions outside medical doctors formed a union called the Joint Action Committee of Unions. It comprises the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives, Medical Health Workers Union, Non-Academic Staff Union, Senior Staff Association and others.

“This morning, we were told that we would have a meeting with the board by 10 a.m. We converged since 10 a.m., only to be told around 2:30 p.m. that they were not interested in seeing us and that we should forward our position to them and that they would call us later.”

“We said this is an aberration. You wrote to the union for a meeting slated for 10 a.m., only to be telling us at 2:30 p.m. that we should send our position paper.
After that development, we convened a Congress. It was at the Congress that we agreed to embark on a peaceful protest. The board was still holding its meeting during the protest and was eventually forced out of the meeting.

“We did not give them the opportunity to address us again because they were the ones that forced us to do what we did not intend to do. The Chief Medical Director came with a Public Address System to talk to us, but we said no.

“This was someone we had a four-hour meeting with where we reached an agreement, and he still went ahead to do something else. To the extent that they told those who they interviewed that it was the unions that were stopping their appointment, “he explained.

Faniran, however, declared that all the unions in the hospital rejected the Public-Private Partnership, saying that “we are ready to maximise the opportunity that is on ground. Provide reagents and consumables to us, and we are ready to work.

“Indirectly, they want to cripple our own services in the hospital. If we accept Public-Private Partnership, that means we are crippling the laboratory. That is why we are now resisting. Radiology, ICU, Morgue, Kitchen and Security are all affected.

“If they fail to adhere to our demands, we have no option than to embark on strike on Monday because the 14-day ultimatum given earlier will expire by 11:59 p.m. on Sunday.

When contacted, the chairman, board of UNIOSUNTH, Dr Niyi Owolade, said process for the PPP arrangement had been approved by Governor Ademola Adeleke for the management of the hospital.

Describing the PPP arrangement as not strange to modern hospital services in Nigeria, Owolade promised that normalcy would be restored in the hospital, saying”we are meeting with the unions next week. The issue will be resolved next week.”

“The board came into the conclusion after an approval by the governor that we should have a Public Private Partnership and we have started the discussion bit not yet completed the discussion. There is nothing special they have to be well educated about it.

“This is not the first place where PPP will be implemented. They have started in Ife, Ibadan. Most teaching hospitals in Nigeria have PPP. There is no much ado about it, “Owolade explained.