The strike embarked upon by the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) is taking its toll on operations of hospitals and medical centres across the country.
Across various hospitals in Ondo, Umuahia, Lagos, Ibadan, Bauchi, Akure, Ilorin, Ado-Ekiti, Sokoto, it is a story of lamentation, pain, agony by patients who are bearing the brunt of the industrial action.
While some members of management of some hospitals have taken to rendering appeals over the strike, the striking doctors have also insisted they would not succumb to threats until government meets their demands.
Some patients and some relatives, who are still on admission, lamented that the strike had negatively affected them decrying that no doctors were attending to them leaving some nurses on duty to attend to their medical needs.
Some of the patients were officially discharged as a result of the development to either go home or go to other hospitals where they will get medical attention while others discharged themselves to get the required treatment elsewhere.
At the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital, (ATBUTH), Bauchi as well as the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Azare, medical activities and other services were grounded. At the various departments of the hospital such as the maternity, male and surgery wards, gynaecology, male medical ward popularly known as “Sani Sami”, pediatric ward, among others, patients looked helpless as they waited for the next step.
President of NARD at ATBUTH branch, Dr Nur Algazali, said that although the strike was regrettable, it was necessary saying that over 150 resident doctors at the ATBU Teaching Hospital had joined the indefinite strike.
A visit to the General Hospital and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) in Owo, Ondo State, showed that the members of the association adhered to the directive as they were absent from the wards and their offices.
Some of the doctors who spoke with the Nigerian Tribune expressed disappointment over the inability of government to implement the agreements. Speaking, the chairman of the association in the state, Dr Tope Olatilu noted that the action was 100 per cent effective across that state.
He said the doctors were not ready to resume unless their demands were met by the government, saying the government should implement the agreements it entered with the union 115 days after it suspended the previous strike.
He attributed the reasons for the industrial action to include poor working environment in public hospitals, irregular payment of doctors’ salaries and hazard allowances of N5000 which was reviewed last in 1991.
Olatilu frowned over the way the government had been handling the health of its citizens with levity and said “only four per cent of the total budget is allocated to the health sector, while 25-50 per cent goes into payment of those in power.
“That shows that priority lies more on the interest of those in power than on Nigerian citizens.”
There was total compliance to the strike in Sokoto State, as reported by the chairman of the association in the state, Dr Sufiyanu Yabo. He said in accordance with the directive of the national leadership of the association, the strike would remain in effect until after the agreement signed with the government was upheld.
At Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH), senior doctors and nurses were seen offering medical assistance to patients as the hospital. Some other patients were also advised by their family members to seek alternative treatment at private hospitals as the number of doctors attending to patients were scanty.
One of the relatives of the patient who spoke with Nigerian Tribune, Aminu Abdullahi, described the situation in the hospital as pathetic. He appealed to Federal Government to urgently resolve the crisis so as to help the masses who cannot afford to patronise private hospitals or seek medical care outside the country.
It was gathered that the doctors’ strike had not affected medical services in the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) as consultants were mandated to take care of patients. At the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital (EKSUTH) Ado-Ekiti, no fewer than four members of the association had resigned their appointment to seek better alternatives outside the state.
The president of NARD EKSUTH, Dr Olaniyi Olaoye who disclosed this while speaking with the Nigerian Tribune in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital on Monday noted that the affected doctors had left the services of the state between July 12 when the strike commenced and last week. He revealed that if the strike lingers, more members would continue to leave the system to seek better and improved welfare and working packages elsewhere, which he said would be disastrous to the state’s health sector.
Meanwhile, the NARD has said the only option to calling off its indefinite strike action is for the Federal Government to honour the Memorandum of Action it entered into with the association.
National President of NARD, Dr Okhuaihesuyi Uyilawa had on Saturday at the end of the association’s National Executive Council meeting held in Umuahia, announced the commencement of the indefinite strike. Uyilawa said some resident doctors were being owed salaries for between two and 18 months.
Uyilawa said, “Since 115 days, the ultimatum we gave in the Memorandum of Action signed has not been sorted out. We lost 19 doctors to COVID-19 and their families are lying helpless at home dying of hunger because their breadwinners have gone. Who takes care of their next of kin?
“We are quick to talk about COVID-19 when we know that hunger is deadlier than the virus. Are you aware the 18 months have not been paid to some of our resident doctors? Four months in Abia, eight months in Imo state, four months in Ondo State, two months in Ekiti State, how do they expect them to survive? How do they want to feed their families, pay their house rent and children school fees? These are the big questions we are asking.
“Hunger is a killer of people in Nigeria and in third world countries than COVID-19 and nothing has been done to it. We have waited for 115 days after signing a document, yet the Federal Government has not done its part. There are resident doctors in federal hospitals that have not received salaries for six months.
“The FMC in Ilorin, Lokoja and ABU, Zaria owe resident doctors up to six months salaries, UPTH has not received for three months, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital has not received for three months. Why is the Federal Government causing harm to the doctors there?
“The Federal Government does not care about the wellbeing of the doctors. We have over 114 House Officers presently that have not gotten salaries for three to six months. Is it good for doctors to work in an environment where they are not insured, or in an environment where the housing allowance is N5000?”
While the strike is taking its toll on activities in hospitals, management of hospitals have bemoaned that medical activities had been adversely affected. In an interview with the medical director, FMC, Umuahia, Professor Onyebuchi Azubuike, he emphasised that resident doctors were the main set of doctors that could manage a hospital in terms of being around. “When they are not around, the hospital cannot operate fully.
“Obviously we have a lot of revenue loss. My appeal is for them and the Federal Government to resolve the issue so that the patients can stop suffering.
“The entire resident doctors in the centre involved in the strike are numbering about 200. As a result, the hospital is managing a skeletal service and we are trying to open up emergency units.”
He admonished the FMC Association of Resident Doctors to embrace dialogue. On its own part, management of ATBUTH assured that it had already put measures in place to be able to ameliorate the suffering of the patients so that the negative effects would not be too much. Speaking through the ATBUTH chairman, Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC), Dr Saidu Abubakar Kadas, the management said that all the consultants and others who were not members of NARD had been adequately mobilised to fill in the vacuum created by the strike action.
Saidu Abubakar Kadas assured further that all emergency cases would be attended at the trauma centre of the hospital 24 hours nonstop stressing that, “what we have put in place are lifesaving measures to be handled by our consultants and other senior professionals around.”
He, however, said that apart from the trauma centre, places such as the gynaecological ward, paediatric ward and other sensitive areas would be attended to while not too serious cases would only be managed but not admitted at the facility.
Kadas then called for a truce on the lingering issue saying that, “the two sides should sit at a table and engage each other in order to fashion out the solution to the problem for the sake of the innocent people who may lose their lives in the process of the strike.”
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) says it was actively involved in ensuring that the removal of House Officers and NYSC doctors from the scheme of service does not lead to a crisis in the Lagos State health sector.
Dr Adetunji Adenekan, NMA chairman, Lagos Zone, gave the assurance at a media briefing on Monday in Lagos. Adenekan said that NMA, through the Medical Guild, had been liaising with the state government on withdrawing the crisis-prone circular released by the state Head of Service.
He said that the National Council on Establishment (NCE) released a policy document for the removal of House Officers and NYSC doctors from the scheme of service, labelling them as students. Adenekan appealed to the state government to withdraw the circular to further strengthen the current harmonious relationship between the association and the state.
Source: Nigerian Tribune
