Speaking on behalf of the management, Professor Chris ‘Bode, the Chief Medical Officer of LUTH, told Nigerian Tribune during a phone chat, while reacting to the nationwide strike action declared by NARD on Monday, that the hospital was still running smoothly in spite of the absence of the striking doctors, stating that the management will address the public after it had appraised the situation.
“Most of the doctors are off duty because of the holidays. This is because we record low turnout of patients during festivities. The few patients are being taken care of by consultants. We will be addressing the public tomorrow (today) after appraising the situation,” Bode said.
At the hospital, the wards were largely vacant when Nigerian Tribune visited. Only a hand full of nurses and doctors were seen walking in and out of the wards in their usual fashion. None of them wanted to speak with Nigerian Tribune.
“Some patients who have emergency cases will have skeletal care, ” Dr Omojuowolo Olubunmi, a resident doctor and former president of Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), LUTH chapter, told Nigerian Tribune over the phone.
“Resident doctors, not consultants, are on strike. Few of our members will be on ground to assist them. But will be running on a very low capacity.
“We know that the patients suffer most during strike actions like this. That is why the resident doctors are working hard to ensure that the strike is not prolonged,” he added.
NARD, in a paragraph statement signed by the President of NARD, Dr Onyebueze John, on Monday morning announced the commencement of an indefinite strike following, what it described as the failure of the federal government to fulfil its promises.
The association according to reports had been holding series of meeting with the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige and the Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole over unresolved issues.
It was also reported that the resident doctors rejected offers made by the federal government to forestall the strike action.
Speaking further on the demands of the doctors, Omojuowolo, said, they were more structural than pecuniary.
“The demands of resident doctors are simple. Some of them do not require money. We are talking about providing an efficient working structure for resident doctors and then paying them salary arrears.
“The Hippocratic Oath is a complete document. It talks about the responsibility of the doctor and at the same time the responsibility of the state to the doctors. You cannot expect a hungry doctor to be effective.
“When doctors are being owed salaries for five or six months in some states, how do you expect them to cope? That is the problem. The government should look at the plight of medical workers because a lot of them are leaving Nigeria in droves on a daily basis. This is because medical workers in Nigeria are not being appropriately cared of,” he stated.
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