NARD Strike: Bauchi Teaching Hospital provides skeletal services

THE Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH), Bauchi, Dr Saidu Mukaddas, says the hospital is providing skeletal services to bridge the gaps created by striking resident doctors.

Mukaddas said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Bauchi.

He fielded questions against the effect of the nationwide industrial action embarked upon by the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) since Sept 1, to press home their demands for improved facilities and condition of service.

“It is usual for the strike to affect normal services in any hospital, but however in ATBUTH, we have been maintaining some skeletal services.

“The consultants are there and we also have the non-regular doctors we are working with to provide some skeletal services to relief patients on admission and emergencies.

“We have over 100 resident doctors but of course you know some are on postings and on training elsewhere.

Therefore, within the hospital we have more than 70 resident doctors who are currently on strike,” Mukaddas said.
NAN also gathered that the hospital has five NYSC doctors, Consultants, LOCUM (non-permanent doctors), housemanship officers, nurses, midwives, technicians and others currently rendering skeletal services.

A check at both the male and female medical and surgical wards showed that most of the patients were in beds while nurses and few doctors were busy rendering medications.

Some of the in-patients told NAN that they were being attended by consultants, non-regular doctors, housemanship officers and NYSC doctors as if there was no strike.

The Out-Patients Department (OPD) and Diabetic Clinic, however, witnessed low turnout of patients with only one consultant attending to the patients at the OPD.