Calm has returned to the only teaching and referral hospital for the three northern regions of the north after management reached a consensus over the outsourcing of its laboratory services with bio-medical scientists and some senior staff.
Management’s decision to outsource some functions of the hospital’s lab angered staff members and a standoff between the groups ensued with both sides taking to the airwaves to make their point.
Even though both parties are yet to sign a written document that will bind them on the way forward, the outsourcing of the laboratory has been suspended.
The once warring groups also agreed to stop the media war and resort to a round table discussion on how to better serve their patients.
At a meeting on Tuesday attended by all stakeholders for the first time, the groups smoked the peace pipe by rendering unqualified apologies over what had transpired between them in the media since the outsourcing idea was conceived.
Our sources say both parties will sign a Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU). The ceasefire followed a public uproar against the hospital’s decision to outsource the laboratory.
A comprehensive proposal has been presented to management to guide it on how to go about dealing with lab services. Our source at the hospital also said the head of the laboratory will henceforth participate in management meetings and will not be represented by the medical director as was the case prior.
Under the yet to be signed MOU, both parties will adhere to the terms and conditions in spelled out in the MOU. The bio medical scientists’ demands, include among other things, that in any engagement between management and the laboratory, there should a written document.
The document, our sources say, will serve as a binding instrument that will hold any of the parties that defaults in adhering to its provisions, to prevent further disagreements in the future. An official statement from management is expected in the coming days, an official hinted Zaa News.
