The Medical Guild has appealed to the Lagos State Government to extend the increment of hazard allowance to health workers in the state beyond April.
Dr Oluwajimi Sodipo, Chairman of the Guild, made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Lagos.
NAN reports that the Medical Guild is an association of doctors under the employment of the Lagos State Government.
Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu had on April 21, approved an increase in the hazard allowance of health workers in the state public service from N5,000 to N25,000.
Sanwo-Olu, however, in a circular signed by the Head of Service, Hakeem Muri-Okunola, said the increment was for the month of April, 2020.
Sodipo, while commending the state government for the increment, said that hazard allowance should continue beyond April to boost health workers’ morale in combating the pandemic.
According to him, all health workers are frontline responders, especially as the COVID-19 pandemic has moved to the level of community transmission in the state.
“Lagos is the epicentre of COVID-19 in Nigeria, which means that all health workers are exposed to risk of infection from the virus while treating patients.
“Already, some of our members are infected with the virus and undergoing treatment.
“We believe that the state government should do more to protect health workers beyond the hazard allowance increase. There is a need to insure all health workers in the state.
“Insurance should not be limited to health workers at the isolation facilities alone,” he said.
Sodipo said that comprehensive plan should be made for health workers that gets infected during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said that complications could arise from the treatment which might necessitate rehabilitation or lead to disability.
The Guild chairman noted that prior to COVID-19, health workers had been combating infectious diseases like Lassa fever outbreak, which sometimes led to fatalities.
Sodipo stressed that health workers were crucial and play a huge role in assisting to mitigate and eradicate the COVID-19 pandemic in Lagos and Nigeria.
