Medical Council Begins Payment of Insurance Claims to Deceased Doctors’ Families

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

The Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) has commenced the payment of insurance claims to families of some doctors who died in active service in 2019.

The council paid N1 million to each of the families of the late doctors as insurance benefit for their lost one.

The event, which took place at the MDCN secretariat in Abuja, was witnessed by the President of Nigerian Medical Association, Prof. Innocent Ujah and Executive Vice Chairman of Dykes Insurance Brokers Limited, Mr. Dau Kenny Tekenah.

The Registrar and Chief Executive of the MDCN, Dr. Tajudeen Sanusi, called on the chairmen of the NMA and directors of medical services in all states of the federation to furnish the secretariat with information on doctors who died in active service for timely processing of their insurance benefits.

Sanusi, who made the call while presenting the cheques to the representatives of the deceased dotors, said that the situation whereby the MDCN would rely on newspapers’ publications for information on doctors who died in the course duty is not acceptable.

The deceased doctors were Patience Selumun Tsavande of Benue State University Teaching Hospital, Makurdi; Oluwamayowa Nofisat Alaka of Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja and Stephen Urueye of Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba.

Sanusi said: “The insurance for doctors has been there in our subsidiary legislation, that is, the code of medical ethics. The latest is 2007 and stipulates that every registered practitioner must have what we call constitutional indemnity.

“We have not been able to enforce it because of the absence of the enabling law. The enabling legistlation was signed into law in 2014. The execution started in 2016.

“Even as you see us sitting here, we have been dragged severally before the ICPC (Independent Corrupt Practices and Other-Related Offences Commission). People were accusing us of selective implementation. We said well, when you have a law like this, you start with the younger colleagues. As at the time they were coming in, we enforce it. That was what happened,” he said.

Sanusi said that the council was not directly informed about most of the cases.