by Azubuike Azikiwe

 

An Indian private hospital, Primus Super Specialty Hospital, with a branch in Abuja, Nigeria is at loggerheads with four of its doctors, who it claims have abandoned their medical duty following the outbreak of the Ebola virus disease in Nigeria.

The hospital says the four doctors, Yogesh Chandra, Dinesh Kumar, Hemant Jingar, and Kapil Chouhan want to head back to India despite the fact that Ebola has not been detected nor any patient admitted in any hospital in Abuja.

Dr ND Khurana, the Chief Operating Officer, of the hospital said,”Unfortunately, in a state of panic, one orthopedic surgeon working at Primus Hospital, Abuja, Nigeria abandoned his services and is alleged to have left Abuja committing medical negligence though he was bound by the medical ethics to provide care to patients admitted under him. Another four doctors (general surgeon, intensivist, anesthetist and physician) want to leave the hospital on the pretext of Ebola Virus Alert after admitting patients requiring intense medical and surgical management.”

He added, “This will bring bad name to India. Ethically and legally, they are duty bound to render their services uninterruptedly but they are shirking their duty in this hour of need.”

Meanwhile, in a conflicting report, the doctors claim that they are being forced to treat Ebola patients against their will.

The doctors, who claim that they were warned against leaving Primus Hospital in the Abuja, also accused their employers of doing everything to make sure they remain in Nigeria.

According to the Hindustan Times, one of the doctors, Kapil Chouhan claimed that their passports have been seized.

He said, “We haven’t been provided with any security kits. Our passports have been impounded. When we spoke to the Indian high commission, we were asked to come to the mission. But we were stopped by guards from leaving the hospital,”

Meanwhile, Dr Narendra Saini, secretary of the Indian Medical Association, argued that it is a doctor’s prerogative to decide if they want to work in a particular country.

Saini said the Indian doctors were forced to work because the Nigerian doctors on strike, have refused to come back to work, even when the Ebola epidemic broke out.

The Hindustian Times also reported that after the intervention of the Indian mission in Nigeria, the doctors have agreed to work in the hospital for a few more days before leaving the country.

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