The NMA (Nigerian Medical Association) did commence the 5-day warning strike action yesterday with doctors refusing to attend to patients in public hospitals throughout the federation.
Read more below as reported by Punch...
The ongoing strike by doctors in public health institutions nationwide has paralysed health care services in the nation’s government’s hospitals. Medical doctors in public hospitals complied with the directive of its national body, the Nigerian Medical Association, to embark on a five-day warning strike, which commenced on Wednesday. Consequently, patients were not treated by medical doctors while those on admission were being taken to private hospitals by their relatives.
For instance, at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex on Wednesday, doctors who belong to the various affiliates of the NMA were not at their duty posts. A reporter who visited the hospital in Ile –Ife, Osun State, observed that only nurses, pharmacists and other health workers were attending to the patients. Few doctors were seen attending to patients at the Virology Research Clinic where people living with HIV/AIDS receive their anti-retroviral drugs.
One of the doctors, who refused to disclose his identity, said they came to assist the patients to get their drugs so that their treatment would not be disrupted. The President of Association of Resident Doctors in the hospital, Dr. Adeola Ajibare, in an interview with one of our correspondents in Osogbo, said that doctors were not happy to go on strike, knowing full well its effect on the nation. Ajibare said that government’s disregard for doctors was the only reason why they embarked on the warning strike.
He said, “We don’t have any grouse with our patients and we are not happy to go on strike because our primary duty is to save lives. We know that anybody, including doctors and members of their families could fall sick or require urgent medical attention during the strike period. “But the government, due to their attitude to issues like this pushed us to take this path. “We informed the management and we worked till 8am this morning (Wednesday) before the strike commenced. We will resume after five days but if the government refused to respond to the issues at hand we will embark on a total and indefinite strike from January 6, 2014.”
Doctors in public health institutions in Benin, Edo State, also shunned work on Wednesday. One of our correspondents observed that new patients were being turned back at Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Irrua, the University of Benin Teaching Hospital; and the Central Hospital, Benin, where doctors observed the strike.
Doctors were also not at their duty posts in major tertiary hospitals in Lagos State. One of our correspondents, who visited the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba; the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja; and the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, observed that resident doctors, consultants and even house officers did not come to work.
Relatives and patients were seen leaving LUTH in frustration as they were no doctors to attend to them. Patients, who were rushed to the Accident and Emergency Unit of the hospitals, were advised to seek alternative treatment in private hospitals. It was only nurses that were seen attending to the patients. The management of the hospital had advised out-patients to come back to the hospital when the strike was over.
Doctors at the Jos University Teaching Hospital and the Plateau State Specialist Hospital, also shunned work on Wednesday. At JUTH the atmosphere was gloomy as patients were waiting at the various admission points with nobody to attend them. However, skeletal activities were going on at the accident and emergency ward. Chairman of NMA in Plateau State, Dr. Chris Yiljwan, told one of our correspondents on Wednesday that the warning strike was successful in public hospitals.
At the National Hospital, Abuja, many patients were stranded and were grumbling because there were no doctors to attend to them. A trade unionist and chairman of the Senior Staff Association in the Hospital, Jelili Kilani, a pharmacist, told The PUNCH that there was compliance by doctors to the strike. When one of our correspondents visited the General Hospital in Abuja, it was observed that skeletal services were being offered. The Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Ahmed Danfulani, confirmed to The PUNCH that doctors complied with the strike. He said, “The strike is on, except that we are just offering very busy skeletal services and we are maintaining emergency. We are receiving patients with severe emergencies.”
The five-day nationwide warning strike by doctors, under the aegis of the NMA, is to protest poor working conditions, inadequate funding, and poor infrastructure in the nation’s health sector.
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