Healthcare activities remain paralysed at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, as the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) strike enters its 10th day.
A visit by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) to the hospital on Monday revealed that the Accident and Emergency Unit and the Out-Patient Department were deserted.
NAN recalls that the UCH ARD embarked on an indefinite strike on Nov. 1, as directed by its national body, the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD).
This followed the government’s failure to heed the resident doctors’ demands of a 200 per cent increase in the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS).
In addition, the doctors seek the full implementation of the new allowances proposed since July 2022 and the immediate recruitment of clinical staff.
The association is also calling for the removal of bureaucratic bottlenecks that delay the replacement of existing doctors, among others.
NAN reports that the resident doctors at UCH fully complied with the directive of their national body, as none of them was seen working.
The UCH ARD President, Dr Gboyega Ajibola, told NAN that the strike has affected the hospital because it has not been admitting patients and performing surgeries.
Ajibola remarks that while consultants are working, the ARD constitutes the backbone of doctors.
“We are not admitting patients because the workforce that will ensure the management plan that is outlined is on strike; clinics are not running efficiently because the number of consultants on the ground to attend to the patients is insufficient.
“It’s a pity because, obviously, surgeries cannot happen because we are the ones who do surgeries; corridors of emergencies, too, are not open because consultants don’t cover the first hand of the emergency department.
“It has also affected the patients and revenue generated by the hospital; the government should please do the needful.
“Our health system is as strong as the hands that sustain it.
“This is not a fight between the Federal Government (FG) and resident doctors; it’s not a fight between the doctors and patients, but one for a health system that is humane, just, fair, and that can provide everything patients need to be adequately cared for.
“We crave a system that seeks the welfare of the people, caring for the patients as well as the people that we are caring for,” he said.
Ajibola urged all stakeholders to take the struggle as a joint collaborative effort and intervene by calling on the FG to hearken to the doctors’ cry.
He also enjoined the populace to help put pressure on the government concerning the doctors’ demands.
The UCH ARD president assured patients that the doctors would offer them the best care once they resume work.
“We want to assure the government that we are not interested in politics but are interested in going back to the hospitals to provide the needed care that the patients need.
“But it’s important that the necessary facilities we need to work must be provided, just as it is important that the doctors who save lives must also stay alive to perform optimally.
“It’s important to address the factors that push doctors out of the system so that they are retained in the system to do their work.
“We beg you; we beg you, the government, to please hearken to our demands so that we can go back to work in good time to give Nigerians quality medical care,” Ajibola said.
A patient, Mr Peter Olarenwaju, who was seen returning home, decried the situation.
“I came for treatment because of my knee joint pain, but I wasn’t attended to.
“Also, my mother, who came for treatment, was not attended to. We are leaving the hospital, as you can see,” he said.
Also, a doctor who spoke anonymously said the strike has led to reduced patient attendance.
“Significantly, there is no admission into the emergency room or into the wards for surgeries.
“Surgery is not taking place because of the strike, since the resident doctors are the live wire of the hospital.
“Emergency surgeries have also not been taking place; people are seeking alternatives in other hospitals.
“Also, ultrasound, echocardiography, and CT scans that people have been booked for over the months cannot take place; they are now asked to come to reschedule another appointment, which is prolonging disease and reducing access to healthcare,” he said.
The source appealed to the government to attend to their demands.
“There is a need to address the excess workload, update the outdated equipment, overhaul the healthcare sector and stop the casualisation of the healthcare workers.
“Surgeries, investigations, and procedures are all affected; consultants have been working, but the head alone cannot work without the neck and the body,” the source stated. (NAN)(
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