The Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria has appealed to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (FMoH) to, as a matter of urgency, call to order the overreaching efforts of the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN) in its attempt to assume the regulatory role of laboratories manned by pathologists in hospitals across the country.

It also alleged a purported plan by the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria, under the guise of ensuring quality assurance in laboratories, to assume the role of regulatory agency for hospitals and privately owned laboratories manned by medically qualified pathologists.

MDCAN issued a communique jointly signed by its President, Prof. Aminu Mohammad, and Secretary, Prof. Daiyabu Ibrahim, with a copy made available to journalists in Jos, the Plateau State capital.

Meanwhile, the theme of the NEC meeting is “Health as a Sustainable Development Goal in Nigeria: Celebrating our Success and Strategizing for the Future.”

The communique reads: “This usurpation of the regulatory powers of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) is therefore totally unacceptable, illegal, and must be stopped forthwith.”

MDCAN further warned MLSCN to stay clear, adding that it is only the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) that has the powers to regulate the practice of pathologists in Nigeria.

The communique also stated that the National Executive Council of MDCAN seeks clarification from the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare on these claims by MLSCN, while urging the Federal Government to address the lingering demand for universal applicability of CONMESS to all doctors across different government establishments.

“We also urge the National Salaries, Incomes, and Wages Commission (NSIWC) to circularize the MoU reached with MDCAN in January 2024. The urgent release of a circular for the increment/harmonization in retirement age to 70 years for hospital consultants and 65 years for other healthcare workers is necessary, as the delay is no longer acceptable.”

The association further explained that human capital and infrastructural gaps and deficits should be urgently addressed by the Federal and State governments before implementing the doubling of admission quotas into medical and dental schools.

MDCAN also argued that state governments should domesticate the CONMESS salary structure for the payment of medical and dental doctors in their respective state services, including those teaching medical students, adding that this will mitigate the “Internal Japa Syndrome” that is rampant in the states of Nigeria.

“We call on other state governments to follow the example of the Abia State Government by approving an increase in the retirement age for medical doctors and other healthcare workers,” MDCAN admonished.