UCH resident doctors down tools over assaults on medical officers

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RESIDENT doctors at the University of College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan have withdrawn clinical services to protest alleged unprovoked assaults on four medical officers and declared a 21-day notice for a strike if their outstanding salaries and arrears are not paid.

President of the Association of Resident Doctors, UCH Chapter, (ARD UCH), Dr Samuel Eseile flanked by Dr Muyiwa Ogundipe, Dr Seun Sulaiman, and Dr Temilade Adeyanju, all executives members of the association and Dr Saul Adeleke, one of the assaulted doctors, at a news conference on Wednesday in Ibadan, said the assaults were on different occasions by hospital workers and patients’ relatives.

Dr Eseile said “We don’t feel safe working within the UCH environment, the lives of our members are being threatened and we have suffered too many attacks by patients, their relatives and some staff of the hospital.

“Some of the attacks have resulted in surgical procedures and hospitalisations of our members who were victims of these unnecessary and unprovoked assaults. Dr Saul Adeleke was in 2019 attacked by a patient’s relative while on duty, although this attack was unprovoked, the hospital’s management has written it off as a minor altercation. “

“Dr Babatunde Falade of the Emergency Department was assaulted on March 10 in the presence of the hospital’s chief security officer by a trainee student in the Engineering Department. This culprit mobilised thugs and his friends from outside the hospital to beat up the doctor and the mob was only dispersed after gunshots in the UCH compound.

“On March 19, Dr Nurudeen Adekunle, a Senior Registrar in Orthopaedics and Trauma Department was assaulted and mobbed by four to five staff of the Accounting Department of the hospital. In the process, he had his right finger fractured,” he said.

According to him the doctors are, dissatisfied with the manner the hospital’s management handled the matter, describing it as indifferent and partial.

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He added “We had hoped to suspend the withdrawal of clinical services only for an obnoxious query letter misrepresenting the facts of the case to be issued to the assault victims. The query letter to our assaulted members must be withdrawn and an apology for misrepresentation of facts in the query letter must be issued by management.”

Dr Eseile stated that some of its members are being owed salaries between three and eight months and their arrears despite the Federal government’s promise to pay after they are captured on the IPPIS, Covid-19 inducement allowance, minimum wage arrears, medical residency training fund and promotion arrears.

He stated ‘in our own estimation, the management has not done completely as we have expected them to, especially from the directorate of finance and accounts, where these issues are domiciled. So the congress resolved even before this current event that we are giving a 21-day ultimatum to the management to resolve these salary issues, following which we will reconvene in a properly constituted congress and review the progress made by management with the view to commencing an industrial action where necessary.”

Meanwhile, in an emergency meeting between the hospital management and heads of Unions in the hospital, with members of the Hospital Board and Vice-chancellor, University of Ibadan, Professor Fadupin and Professor Femi Ogunbiyi, the hospital’s Chief Medical Director, Professor Jesse Otegbayo said steps were being taken by his team, including an administrative panel of enquiry, to ensure justice is served irrespective of whoever is found wanting. The panel, Prof. Otegbayo said will also suggest measures towards preventing similar occurrence in the future.

Sade Oguntola