UCTH Medical Interns Protest Seven Months Unpaid Salaries

…Accuse CMD of neglect

Rebecca Ejifoma

After seven months of unpaid salaries by the management of the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) Calabar, a faction of health care professionals undergoing internship with the hospital, recently took to the streets and social media to demand their pending fees.

The interns, which include radiographers, medical lab scientists, nurses, dental therapists, pharmacists, and ophthalmologists among others, demonstrated at the main gate of the hospital, chanting continuously, “Pay us now!

Among the inscriptions on their banner displayed is “UCTH, where did we go wrong?”, “Enough is enough!”, “We are hungry”, “We are tired”, and “We are dying”.

Speaking to THISDAY, one of the interns, Idara (last name withheld) recalled: “We got employed last October, but officially resumed in November. Since then till date, no payment. Only house officers, that is the doctors, have been paid. And we all started together.”

According to her, they have been working tirelessly, and were exposed to COVID-19 patients and other diseases, yet the management meted out such “depressing treatment” on them.

To further aggravate the situation, Idara accused the CMD of the hospital, Prof. Ikpeme Ikpeme, of neglect.

“Till date, our CMD has not addressed us. Other teaching hospitals in the country have paid all the interns from November till this month except us,” she bemoaned.

For Idara and her colleagues, whose video recordings were shared with THISDAY, it is very frustrating. “We begged him. We are begging him to do something about it or tell us what is going on”.

Following their plea, the intern acknowledged that the CMD sent N16,500 and N17,750 in April and May to their various accounts to make up for their pending salaries.

Meanwhile, the medical interns said they are entitled to monthly salaries ranging from N120,000 to N150,000. Having worked for seven months without being paid once, Idara reminded the management, “We have only four months left to round off”.

In her words, “We are tired, frustrated, sick and hungry. During COVID-19 nobody gave us nose masks or hand sanitisers. We got them with our money.”

Reacting to the accusation that the medical interns have not been paid for seven months coupled with failure on his part to address them, Ikpeme debunked part of the allegations.

“That is not exactly true. Yes, interns have not been paid, as part of the challenges we are having with payment of non-regular staff nationwide. It’s not a University of Calabar Teaching Hospital problem,” the CMD said.

According to him, non-regular payroll, as it is called, has not been paid because the government wants to verify the interns. “The government has sent a verification team around the nation to verify them before the payment.

He continued: “The allegation that they have not been addressed is not correct. I have spoken to the interns at least four times even in the presence of witnesses: the management staff of the hospital, the leadership of Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU), the National Association of Nurses and Midwives UCTH branch, DSS, the police, and the heads of departments.”

With plans to pay the raging interns soon, the CMD said, “We have prepared all the schedules submitted. That is why I said the government is coming for verification. When the government comes, they should make themselves available to be verified”.

Ikpeme, however, clarified that the interns have been paid something. “Based on the amount of money released, we have paid them something (N16,500, and N17,500 Idara mentioned) all in an effort to try to assuage them that we are trying to solve the problem working with the government.”