Reps consider bill to establish tenure for chief medical directors of teaching hospitals

A bill seeking to establish tenure for chief medical directors of university teaching hospitals has passed second reading at the house of representatives.

A chief medical director of a university teaching hospital is responsible for the execution of the policies and matters affecting the day-to-day management of the hospital.

The proposed law seeks to amend some sections of the University Teaching Hospitals (Reconstruction of Boards) Act, 2004.

Section 6 of the current Act states that “the chief medical director shall hold office at the pleasure of the President”.

The bill, on the other hand, proposes that the chief medical director be appointed for a single five-year term.

The bill also recommends the replacement of the title of a chief medical officer with chief executive officer.

The current Act limits the appointment of a chief medical director to “be a person who is medically qualified and registered as such for a period of not less than twelve years, and has had considerable administrative experience in matters of health and holds a post-graduate medical qualification obtained not less than five years prior to the appointment as Chief Medical Director”.

But the proposed amendment seeks to expand the requirement to include healthcare professionals with a certification in hospital management administration.

Bamidele Salam, a lawmaker from Osun state, who is the sponsor of the proposed legislation, told TheCable that the bill will align the operations of teaching hospitals with global practices.

“Everyone within an industry must be guaranteed opportunities to the pinnacle of what they have the capacity to handle within the industry,” he said.

“But again, I must say it is not just about nurses or pharmacists, it is about all classes of professionals. The management of teaching hospitals worldwide has always been occupied by people who have cognitive experience. There are hospitals that accountants head if they have managerial experience in that regard.

“So, everyone that is involved in the classes of people who service the industry must be able to aspire to the head of that institution because what they do at that level is mainly managerial.

“And all these strikes we have will be greatly minimised if not totally abrogated, if we are able to expand the opportunities available for all persons involved in the industry to aspire to the headship of teaching hospitals and tertiary institutions of medical learning.

“This is one of the main deficits that the bill seeks to cure.”