Govt Charges Health Workers On Duties

Health workers in the 17 local government areas of Enugu State have been called upon to live up to the expectations of the people and government by performing their duties diligently.

Making the call recently, in a seminar organized by Partnership for Transforming Health System (PATHS), in conjunction with the Enugu State Government, the participants expressed total disappointment over the current poor performance of rural health workers in the State, describing it as shameful.

In addition, the aggrieved participants who did not hide their disappointment throughout the duration of the seminar, claimed that majority of the health workers are not qualified to practice, saying they were “imposed on the people in rural communities by their relations who are top serving government officials”.

Noting that many people dye in the rural areas as a result of what they call “I don’t care” attitude of the health workers, the participants further said: “The rural people are not feeling the impact of the drugs which government is providing to them. “The drugs being sent to the rural areas don’t get the people. The rural health workers are not helping matters. They don’t come to work regularly. Government does not have any criteria of employing health workers in the rural areas of the State. Government does not monitor the attitude of rural health workers, and the drugs being sent to the rural areas. Everything is based on man- know- man”, they said.

One of the participants, Mrs. Mary-Jane Ndukwe, spoke for over twenty minutes in total condemnation of the poor performance of the rural health workers. She narrated to participants at the workshop how she assisted a woman in labour, abandoned by a health worker who could not offer her any form of help on a lame excuse that it was time for her to close for the day.

 They, therefore, appealed to the state government to come to the rescue of the people in the rural areas by monitoring, not only the attitude of the health workers, but the drugs being sent to the rural communities of the state.

This, they reasoned, would go a long way in improving the standard of health of the rural populace, adding that the importance of good health in any society cannot be over- emphasised.

Also speaking, the Enugu State commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Professor Frank Asogwa, confirmed that “some rural health workers don’t do what they are employed and paid for by government to do”.

He, therefore, assured that government would look into the problem with a view to improving the health of the rural dwellers in the state, adding that no responsible government can toy with the health of the people.