Doctors’ strike paralyses hospitals, patients groan
• Hospitals expel, reject patients • NARD says members unlikely to call off strike soon, • Congress to decide next line of action • Says FG’S assurances not concrete despite signing agreement
THERE are fears the poor health indices recorded by the country and the spread of COVID- 19 may get worse as the ongoing strike by resident doctors paralysed activities in 98 per cent of government hospitals nationwide.
When The Guardian reporters visited Federal Government- owned hospitals and health institutions across the 36 states and Federal Capital Territory ( FCT) Abuja, patients and their relatives were seen groaning in despair. Most of the hospitals had started discharging patients while others had stopped admitting new ones. Resident doctors in most of the hospitals visited complied fully with the strike directive from their parent
By Chukwuma Muanya ( Lagos), Lawrence Njoku ( Enugu), Murtala Adewale ( Kano), Ann Godwin ( Port Harcourt), Ibrahim Obansa ( Lokoja), Charles Ogugbuaja ( Owerri), Rauf Oyewole ( Bauchi), Ayodele Afolabi ( Ado- Ekiti), Anietie Akpan ( Calabar), Mansur Aramide ( Yola), Uzoma Nzeagwu ( Awka), Mansur Aramide ( Gombe)
body. Only medical consultants and nurses were seen offering skeletal services.
The implication is that since resident doctors offer more than 50 per cent of medical services in Federal Government- owned hospitals and health institutions, patients with critical conditions are more likely to be affected if the strike continued. Also, despite attempts by the Federal Government and other stakeholders to persuade resident doctors under the aegis of National Association of Resident Doctors ( NARD) to call off their one- day industrial action, reasons have emerged why the leadership of the association is not likely to.
President, NARD, Dr. Uyilawa Okhuaihesuyi, told The Guardian late evening yesterday: “As we speak, we just finished a very long meeting with representatives of Federal Government. We signed agreements on how to address the issues. They have made assurances and given deadlines on when to meet our demands. But nothing is concrete yet. Our demands have not been met.
“We are taking their promises to our congress, for our members to decide. The meeting is likely to end before 8.30pm on Thursday. From the feelers on ground, it is unlikely that the congress will approve suggestions to call off the strike. I can tell you, it is unlikely that we will call off the strike. But nothing is impossible.
“We have signed agreements in the past that were not kept. But we keep our fingers crossed. We hope to resolve the issues as soon as possible and probably suspend the strike.”
IN an attempt to avert the nationwide strike, which commenced yesterday, the Federal Government had earlier on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Action ( MOA) with NARD.
The agreement was signed at midnight on Wednesday after a marathon meeting between the government team and the leadership of NARD at the office of the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige.
The meeting, which lasted seven hours, deliberated on the issues raised by the aggrieved doctors in their Notice of Trade Dispute, including the non- payment of salaries of some house officers.
MEANWHILE, medical activities were paralysed at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital ( UNTH), Ituku, Ozalla, Enugu on Thursday as resident doctors joined their counterparts nationwide to protest non- implementation of their welfare packages.
The Guardian, on a visit the hospital at noon, discovered that none of the resident doctors reported for work. Medical consultants, who had also started discharging patients, whose cases were not too serious, handled the clinics.
A consultant, who spoke with The Guardian on condition of anonymity, stated: “I cannot admit any emergency case at the moment. Everywhere is grounded. The resident doctors did not come to work today. They are on strike. I am the only one in the whole of this department.”
At the time of filing this report on Thursday afternoon, it was not clear whether resident doctors at the state teaching hospital would join the strike on sympathy grounds.
A doctor at the Enugu State University Teaching Hospital ( ESUTH) said his colleagues were meeting on Thursday but could not disclose if it was to join the strike.
ALSO, clinical services at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital ( AKTH) Kano were, yesterday, paralysed.
Already, AKTH has placed embargo on new admission while patients recuperating on admission were abruptly discharged because of the absence of doctors in the hospital. The Guardianlearnt that the 28- bed capacity female medical ward was reduced to six patients because of the dearth of medical personnel. Those left behind were rather reconsidered due to their critical conditions, it was gathered.
Similarly, patients at male clinical ward were compulsorily discharged from the hospital by the hospital management. Worse still, the doctors’ strike also halted routine clinical consultation across all the specialty clinics, while patients at the General Out- Patient Department ( GOPD) were left stranded. Although, other health workers, including nurses, lab scientists, physiotherapists and others on administrative services remained on their duty post, the non- attendance of doctors invariably rendered other service providers redundant.
Hanatu Hassan, daughter to a 65- year- old Hajiya Marya Hassan appealed to both resident doctors and the Federal Government to resolve the lingering differences in the interest of patients.
Another patient, Betris James, who managed to speak with our correspondent, appealed to doctors and government to settle their crisis. She lamented that nurses alone could not manage patients.
President of ARD, AKTH branch, Dr. Mujaheed Muhammad Hassan, told The Guardian that ARD were left with no alternative.