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Tag: doctors’ strike

  • Gbajabiamila’s intervention makes resident doctors suspend strike

    Following intervention of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, the National Association of Resident Doctors of Nigeria (NARD) has suspended its planned industrial action due to commence today.

    According to a statement signed by Lanre Lasisi, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Speaker, the union had at the end of its 39th Ordinary General Meeting in Benin City, Edo State in May, given a 40-day ultimatum, calling for the payment of outstanding salary shortfalls and arrears of its members.

    However, after the ultimatum, the Speaker had appealed to the resident doctors through the immediate past secretary-general of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Hon. Yusuf Sununu, a member of the House, to give him time to make consultations on the issues at stake.

    Read Also: PDP probe panel meets Senators, Reps over Lawan, Gbajabiamila

    NARD’s National President, Olusegun Olaopa, who confirmed the suspension of the strike said the union had to put it on hold to honour the Speaker till Monday, 29, July when the Speaker would meet with the union.

    Olaopa said: “It was based on the ultimatum that we gave earlier, which we served the Hon. Speaker. Based on the discussion with the Speaker, who actually showed good intention to intervene in the matter, we felt that it is honourable for us to meet and take his intervention.

    “For now, we considered trying to hold on any action that we want to take, which is supposed to be today (yesterday), at our meeting tomorrow (today). But we thought that since the Hon. Speaker has intervened, we should give him the honour at least to meet with him and allow him to intervene in the matter before we go ahead.

    “So, the meeting has been fixed for Monday. We are planning to make some concessions to allow us to meet with the Speaker first and see his good intervention before we consider any other action”.

    Other demands of the resident doctors as contained in their communique included the appropriate placement in grade levels of doctors who suffered same scale promotion and for state governments to look into their tertiary health institutions to immediately halt the decay in providing access to quality healthcare to the citizenry.

  • Yobe blames doctor’s strike on communication gap

    •Union urged to embrace dialogue

    The Yobe State government has blamed threats by resident doctors to go on strike on communication gap.

    It urged the doctors to embace dialogue to resolve contentiou issues.

    Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) in Yobe State on Wednesday called on the government to address problems affecting its members or face an industrial action after 21 days.

    The association also called for the promotion of doctors; an upward review of the residency program package; allowances due and owed be settled; that government should start housemanship and residency program in the hospitals; that youth corps doctors be paid what is due to them and promptly; employ more doctors in the state; and that government should equip the Accident and Emergency wards with necessary emergency drugs, including the theatre.

    Commissioner of Health Dr. Bello Kawuwa, at a news conference yesterday, said most issues raised by the doctors have been addressed.

    He said: “I think it is a case of communication gap. The doctors did not do the needful to lay their complaints and exhaust all opportunities before issuing the ultimatum.

    “Governor Ibrahim Gaidam, on May 14, approved 100 per cent payment of CONMESS and CONHESS salary structure to doctors and medical workers.

    “The reduction in salaries of some may not be unconnected with the initial hitches in the take-off of the implementation.”

    Bello assured the doctors that the government will address their complaints and “give everyone what is due to him or her”.

    The commissioner promised that none of the doctors will be victimised based on the threat, adding that “the doctors are our students and children. We will sit together and resolve the issue. But as I said, many of the issues raised have been addressed.

    “The ministry is surprised by ARD’s stance, which seems to display complete ignorance of, or lack of regard for government operations and current developments in the state.

    “The Ibrahim Gaidam-led government places so much premium on healthcare, recognising that health is a development issue. This is why the government continues to invest heavily in the sector to improve the health and well being of the people.

    “Any element used to sabotage the governemnt’s effort will not succeed. The health sector works with sincerity of purpose, which is the guiding principle for how governor Gaidam operates.

    “We call on the leadership and members of the ARD to embrace dialogue and interface with the Ministry of Health and its agencies on matters relating to service and welfare instead of resorting to threats.

    “We will not be cajoled, intimidated or pushed into derailing from our vision of ensuring an efficient and effective healthcare system in Yobe State.”

  • Doctors’ strike: LASUTH, others still attending to patients

    Doctors’ strike: LASUTH, others still attending to patients

    Treatment of patients in Lagos hospitals did not stop as doctors’ strike entered its third day yesterday.

    When The Nation visited the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), our reporter saw patients being attended to by doctors, while some workers gathered in groups to discuss the strike.

    A patient, Mrs Seun Fashugba, said she was not aware doctors were on strike before heading to the hospital at 5:30am. She had an accident and was groaning in pain. “Thankfully, I was treated by a doctor and even booked future appointment,” she said.

    A Cardiothoracic Consultant, Dr Bode Falase, who attended to patients, said there was not need for hospitals to be shut down while doctors are on strike. He said consultants would be at work for emergency conditions till the strike would be called off.

    Commissioner for Health Dr Jide Idris said the government was already addressing the issue, urging the doctors to return to work. He told the aggrieved doctors to place professionalism above personal consideration, saying they must consider the people as the strike continues.

    But a medical practitioner, Dr Ore Falomo, described the doctors’ action as needless, urging them back to work.

    Falomo, who was in LASUTH yesterday, said: “When people work diligently, success is guaranteed and it will naturally come. Strike is a challenge we have to face and it is not something we can ignore. I am leaving LASUTH now to talk to the doctors to ensure we get something meaningful done to end the mess created by young doctors. Medical practice is a calling and not a business. I know the authority has not attended to many issues causing the strike, but doctors must exhaust all avenues before going on strike. Strike has never been a good option, because innocent patients suffer.”

    The Nation observed that most state-owned hospitals opened for operation but activities were not at the peak as they used to be when there was no strike. Patients have continued to access healthcare at the LASUTH, Gbagada General Hospital, Ifako-Ijaiye General Hospital and Igando General Hospital, among others.

    The Medical Guild chairman, Dr Biyi Kufo, said the government was frustrating the association’s plan to end the strike, noting that doctors were being asked to sign attendance register.

    He said: “Doctors are complying with the industrial action as directed by the body. But we observed that our members are being victimised through signing of attendance register and discrimination.

    “The government did not take these steps when the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) was on strike. Why should must they ask our members to sign a register when we go on strike to demand what is due to us? It is quite unfortunate that government resorted to cheap blackmail to make doctors return to work. We will resist this move.”

    Kufo said doctors would continue to attend to emergency cases, but added that strike would not be called off until their demands are met.

     

     

  • Mark, Uduaghan, Ogbeha meet NMA over strike

    Mark, Uduaghan, Ogbeha meet NMA over strike

    Senate President David Mark has again held a closed door meeting with the leadership of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) over the ongoing doctors’ strike.

    The meeting took place at the Apo residence of the Senate President, in Abuja, from Tuesday night till Wednesday morning.

    Governor of Delta State, Emmanuel Uduaghan, Senator Tunde Ogbeha and Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, reportedly attended the meeting.

    The parley was in continuation of efforts by Mark to ensure that the current impasse between the striking doctors and the Federal Government is resolved.

    The Chief Press Secretary to the Senate President, Paul Mumeh, in a statement, said the NMA was set to end the industrial action embarked upon following disagreement with the federal government over unpaid allowances.

    The statement said that Mark reminded the doctors of the implications of the strike on the health of the citizens during the meeting.

    It noted that there were indications that government has complied with a reasonable number of the doctors’demands following which they resolved to brief their members before agreeing to call off the strike.

    The statement quoted the President of the NMA, Dr. Kayode Obembe, as saying that he would not give the exact date and time when the strike would be called off until he reports back to his members since “the meeting with the Senate President was very useful and successful.”

    On assumptions that the striking doctors abandoned the nation in this period of major heath challenge, Obembe said “there was never a time we refused to respond to the national emergency. We have been alive to our duties as professionals and to our father land.”

     

  • Confusion trails suspension of doctors’ strike

    The controversy trailing the suspension of doctors’ strike has taken another dimension with the reported resignation of the Nigeria Medical Association, president, Dr. Kayode Obembe on Friday.

    Though he has not officially tendered his resignation letter, a delegate to the emergency meeting told The Nation that Obembe posted his resignation on the association’s website.

    The letter was however not seen on the website when our checked the web portal on Friday.

    Though the situation is still sketchy at the time of filling this report, The Nation gathered that the NMA’s president resignation may not be unconnected with his stand on the strike which was suspended on Thursday through a press statement signed by him (Obembe).

    Obembe in the statement announcing the suspension of the strike noted that government had made positive move towards meeting the doctors’ demands.

    Besides, he also cited the current outbreak of Ebola in the country among many other issues for the suspension of the strike.

    However, a counter statement was later issued by a faction of the association and signed by the first and second president of NMA, Dr. Titus Ibekwe and Dr. Bartholomew Okorochukwu, distancing themselves from the suspension of the strike.

    They urged doctors to continue the strike until the federal government addressed all their demands.

     

     

  • Senate begs doctors to call off strike

    Senate begs doctors to call off strike

    The Senate on Tuesday begged the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) to call off their one – week old strike to avoid further loss of lives.

    Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, made the appeal in Abuja following a point of order by Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta North) on the doctors’ strike which had paralyzed activities in all public hospitals.

    Okowa informed the Senate that the National Assembly Committee on Health and the Committee set up by the Federal Government are working to ensure that the doctors return to work without further delay.

    He explained that his committee had met with the leadership of the NMA, an action, he added, necessitated the setting up of a Presidential Technical Committee headed by the Secretary to the Federal Government,  Senator Anyim Pius Anyim.

    He said the technical committee which included members of the NMA, held a marathon meeting where the leadership of the striking doctors appealed to their members to offer emergency services in all medical institutions.

    He said even though the doctors had since commenced offering emergency services to patients, the body had yet to officially call off the strike.

    He assured the Senate that his committee would continue to mediate in the industrial logjam until all the grey areas are resolved and the strike called off.

    Okowa said: “The NMA said they would call their members back to offer emergency medical services and since Friday the 4th, they have directed all medical institutions to offer emergency medical services to Nigerians.

    “Yesterday (Monday), we were at the emergency delegates’ meeting, the Governor of Delta State who is also a medical doctor, myself and the Chairman of the House Committee on Health, where we addressed the emergency delegates’ meeting on the need to call off the strike.”

  • Another needless doctors’ strike

    SIR: With due respect to my teachers, senior colleagues and colleagues, the call for downing of tool by doctors is needless having read the ratio on which the strike was called. Having worked within and outside Nigeria both in Clinical and Public Health domain, I am strongly obliged to state that the nation’s health drawbacks are essentially caused by doctors who are meant to be the leaders of the health team. It suffices to state that while it is true that the leadership of the health team is like a birthright, their roles and responsibility must equally be so. Only when these are aligned can we claim the leadership of the health team. As for the request placed before the federal government, it is sad to note that the issues are quite petty and trivial to culminate in the decision that will result to irreversible consequences and loss of lives.

    As a medical doctor with over 14 years experience, I have never had to face the question of whether or not I am the head of any health team where I found myself as the most senior doctor or the only doctor in a collection of health practitioners in a health mission. The simple reason is that I know my bound and appreciate that even the weakest link in my team count. The posture and activities of my colleagues both at the public and private sectors is appalling, such that it has left some of us who have seen our shortfalls and have made or shown some resentment to it are seen as deviants.

    I am not surprised at the backlash we receive from other team mates in the hospital. Looking critically at their opposition to us, you will naturally find that something is wrong with us as doctors, if not, how could we have lost the confidence of all our team mates including non medics such as the ward attendants, administration staff etc?

    Now my question is, of what value is the appointment of a Deputy Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee (DCMAC) to the already Chief Medical Director (CMD) and Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC) that has been exclusively for doctors?

    How is the work of a doctor affected by the appointment of the most senior health practitioner to direct the activities of his other colleagues as a director; or how is doctor’s work affected if a health practitioner has reached a level of expertise in his field and he is referred to as a consultant?

    It is quite worrisome to hear my colleagues down tools for the simple reason that the post of a Surgeon General is yet to be filled even when the two ministerial slots are occupied by doctors. I believe that the hazards’ allowance needs to be reviewed, but doctors especially our consultants must justify the little that has been paid by actively availing themselves in the daily routines of the hospital instead of turning attainment of consultant in the hospital as a gateway to truancy; my colleagues know what I mean.

    We are already fast losing our respect from the government and the general public, and in recent time even from our colleagues whose disposition is for the good of man.

    This piece is a wakeup call to my colleagues to look within and appreciate the rot and imbroglio our actions and in-actions have brought to this noble profession and the health sector in general.

    • Dr Abdullahi Baba Abdul,

    Former UN Medical Doctor to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

     

  • Counting the cost of doctors’ strike

    Public hospitals were shut for five days last week. Patients bore the brunt as they were left unattended to. WALE ADEPOJU reports

    When the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) and its affiliates, such as National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) Nigerian Medical Guild (NMG) and Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) began the five-day nationwide warning strike last Tuesday patients were denied access to treatment.

    The common saying that when two elephants fight the ground suffers was reenacted as patients were turned back from accessing treatment in all public hospitals nationwide.

    Some patients who couldn’t afford treatment in private hospitals died while loking for help; the conditions of others were aggravated.

    Other even engaged the services of herbalists since they don’t have money to pay doctors in private clinics.

    Many in-patients were discharged before they complete their treatment. Patients who can afford the high cost of private clinics asked for referral so that they can continue their treatment elsewhere. But the hapless patients were asked to go home if they can’t afford the cost of accessing treatment in private facilities. The rich were able to use private wing of some public hospitals.

    The out-patients could not even make it to the wards where they use to receive treatment as they were turned back at the gate by the hospital staff and security officials.

    The common slogan from the staff is “come back when doctors resume”.

    The emergency units were also locked up to patients. Any emergency cannot be attended to in the hospitals, living nurses and other health care workers to offer half treatment.

    The doctors succeeded in grounding the sector for those five days they were on strike.

    But as the NMA chairman, Dr Osahon Enabulele said: “This is just the beginning. It is either the Federal Government solves the anomally in our payroll or we continue the indefinite strike on January 6 of next year.”

    The peace currently being enjoyed in the sector after doctors went back to work yesterday may varnish sooner than expected if Federal Government refused to heed NMA’s call.

    The strike not only affected the hospitals but also paralysed the entire sector led by doctors, who are “the chief diagnosticians”

    For Mrs Alaba Iyanmu and Mr Jude Nwakpuda, the public hospital was a no go area. This is no thanks to a five-day warning strike embarked upon by the NMA.

    They were among many patients who were denied treatment at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Federal Neuro-Psychiatric, Yaba and Federal Medical Centre, Ebute Metta, which left their doors closed on the patients.

    The doctors abandoned their ward round and routine checks to demand what they called anomaly in payroll, among other issues.

    They couldn’t be seen when The Nation visited the facilities where they eke out their livelihood.

    To make matters worse, some of the hospitals officials were bold enough to tell some patients to their face to seek treatment elsewhere.

    Emergency care also came to a halt leaving poor patient to their fate. Out-patients and new patients too were not spared.

    One Miss Elizabeth, who suffered a motor accident, which left her with broken arms, was attended to by nurses. But this was all they could do as doctors are on absent without leave (AWOL).

    Mr Idowu Aderibigbe, whose relation was admitted at LUTH, said he was already making plans to transfer his brother to a private facility.

    He said: ‘’We were shocked when the information about the commencement of the strike reached us.

    ‘’We therefore have to think of how to transfer our relation elsewhere for treatment so that he can get well soon.”

    Mrs Iyanmu, who lamented over her inability to access care, said she was at her lowest ebb. She described the situation precarious one.

    She said: ‘’I have an appointment with the doctor today, since the doctors are on strike I have no option than to go back home.

    ‘’This strike is neither good for the patients nor for the nation at large.”

    Another out-patient, Mr Nwakpuda described the situation as “pathetic” as he appealed to government to dialogue with the striking doctors.

    ‘’I want to plead with both parties to settle their differences for the betterment of the health sector and the nation at large, ‘’ Nwakpuda said.

    Although the nationwide warning strike may have ended, but its impact will linger in the minds of those affected.

  • Patients lament as doctors’ strike enters day four

    Patients lament as doctors’ strike enters day four

    Pain and anguish were the lots of patients in hospitals across the nation as the five-day warning strike embarked upon by medical doctors entered the third day yesterday.

    In Lagos, Port Harcourt, Jos, Kano and other cities, there were reports of patients being stranded because there were no doctors to attend to them.

    All members of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) and its affiliates, the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) Nigerian Medical Guild (NMG) and Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN), had embarked on the warning strike to press home their demand for proper equipping of government-owned hospitals.

    Patients at the Lagos University Teaching hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba; National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi; Federal Neuro-Psychiatric, Yaba and Federal Medical Centre, Ebute Metta all in Lagos said that doctors had abandoned their ward round and routine check as they lamented their inability to access treatment in the hospitals.

    When The Nation visited, some patients were seen leaving the hospital to seek treatment in private hospitals.

    Officials of the hospitals were seen telling out-patients and new patients to seek treatment elsewhere until the strike is over.

    At LUTH, however, some patients were being attended to by health workers. One Miss Elizabeth was attended to by nurses at the hospital. She said she had a motor accident, which left her with broken arms.

    A concerned individual whose relation was admitted at LUTH, said he was already making plans to transfer his brother to a private hospital.

    He said: ‘’We were shocked when the information about the commencement of the strike reached us. ‘We therefore have to think of how to transfer our relation elsewhere for treatment so that he can get well soon.”

    An out-patient, Mrs Alaba Iyanmu, lamented her inability to access care.

    She said: ‘’I had an appointment with the doctor today, but since the doctors are on strike I have no option but to go back home. ‘This strike is not good for the patients or for the nation at large.”

    Mr Jude Nwakpuda, an out-patient, described the situation as “pathetic” as he appealed to government to dialogue with the striking doctors.

    ‘’I want to plead with both parties to settle their differences for the betterment of the health sector and the nation at large,’’ he said.

    Our correspondent who visited the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), Murtala Mohammed Specialist Hospital and Abdullahi Wase Specialist Hospital, all in Kano yesterday, reports that the three hospitals operated skeletal services for emergency cases only.

    Many of the patients were advised to seek alternative treatments in private clinics.

    At AKTH, some stranded patients who spoke with our correspondent appealed to the doctors to resolve their grievances with the government rather than continue with the strike.

    But the President of the National Association of Resident Doctors, Dr. Jubril Abubakar, told our correspondent that in the case of Kano where there was cholera outbreak, patients with emergency cases were being attended to while some hospitals in the state capital remain shut.

    He said: “We have entered the middle of the warning strike, and if the jokers (Federal Government) continue to play their joking tricks, by January 6, the doctors will not have any alternative but to go on an indefinite strike.

    “We started the warning strike on Wednesday and we hope to end it on Monday, when all doctors will resume work.”

    In Jos, Plateau State, many patients were at government hospitals. Two major government hospitals in Jos, namely the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) and the Plateau State Specialists Hospital only attended to emergency cases.

    Many patients on admission were left unattended to; ditto for outpatients who came for screening or routine check. Women attending antenatal had to seek for services at private clinics in the city.

    The Chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association in Plateau State, Dr. Chris Yilgwan, said: “The action was taken to effect the five-day warning strike. It will soon be over and after that we can resume negotiation with government on our demands.

    “Members of the branch include doctors in both government and private hospitals, but we have only withdrawn services in government hospitals and allowed the private ones to operate, because if we withdraw services totally, innocent people will die and that is not the aim of the strike.

    “In spite of the strike, my members still attend to accident cases and women in labour.”

    He urged the government to “do the needful” to avoid a full blown strike. He also called on Nigerians to impress it on the government to do the necessary thing to avoid the main strike.

    In Cross River State, it was tales of woes for patients in public hospitals. Many patients with various cases of ill-health were abandoned by doctors to comply with the five-day warning strike ordered by the NMA.

    A visit to the University of Calabar teaching Hospital and the General Hospital in Calabar revealed the absence of doctors. Only nurses and other medical workers were seen attending to patients in the hospitals.

    An accident victim at UCTH, who gave his name as Victor, said: “The patients have been lamenting since Wednesday that doctors stopped working. It is only the nurses that have been attending to us. Even if they (doctors) come in, they would not attend to you. They would just greet you and go away.

    “New patients have not been admitted since then. Some accident victims brought in on Wednesday were returned. The patients, including me, are lamenting. The nurses are only working on prescriptions the doctors left behind.

    “Since then, my doctor has not attended to me and I have some complaints which I cannot lay out to the nurses but doctors who know what to do. There were some tests I did which they were to come and inspect, but since then I have not since any of them. It is not a pleasant experience for us.”

    The warning strike also crippled activities at public hospitals in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The premises of the only Federal government facility in Rivers State, the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH), was deserted yesterday by both patients and doctors.

    Contacted on the phone, the Chairman Resident Doctors’ Association (RDA), Dr. Prince Dan-Jumbo, said the strike action recorded full compliance at the UPTH. He said all the patients on admission before the strike commenced were discharged to seek help elsewhere.

    It was reported that five patients died on the first day of the strike, but Dan-Jumbo did not confirm the report.

    He said: “The five-days warning strike is still ongoing. That was why you did not see anybody in the hospital. All the patients on admission were discharged.”

  • Doctors’ strike paralyses hospitals nationwide

    Doctors’ strike paralyses hospitals nationwide

    Doctors yesterday began a five-day warning strike to press for their demands, which include correction of alleged anomaly in the payroll and personnel information system.

    The doctors, under the aegis of Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), stayed away from virtually all government-owned hospitals in the nation.

    There was unusual quiet at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi Araba; Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Yaba; Federal Medical Centre, Ebute Metta and National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi.

    Most patients left frustrated as they were not attended to.

    It was particularly difficult for patients needing emergency treatment, as they were advised to seek alternative treatment in private clinics/facilities.

    At the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), some patients appealed to the doctors to resolve their grievances with the government, instead of embarking on strike.

    They said the striking doctors should consider the health conditions of the people.

    The Chairman of NMA in Lagos State, Dr Francis Faduyile, said all Federal Government-owned hospitals in Lagos complied with the directive.

    He said: “The strike was effective because all doctors complied with the directive.”

    A senior resident doctor at LUTH, Dr Peter Ogunnubi, said full compliance with the strike was being enforced.

    He said: “As a result of the poor state of the nation’s health facilities, many of our doctors have been forced to leave the country and work where the condition of service is better.

    “The budgetary allocation of five per cent to the sector also falls short of the World Health Organisation’s standard that stipulated at least 15 per cent.

    “The Federal Government has allowed certain policies in the running of health care system, which if not checked, will lead to total collapse and paralysis of the system.”

    Ogunnubi added: “We are not leaving the patients in the lurch, but we are fighting for their good.”

    Also, Dr Oluwajimi Sodipo, the president, Association of Resident Doctors in LASUTH, noted that there was full compliance with the NMA’s directive .

    Dr Olugbenga Owoeye, a consultant psychiatrist at the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Yaba, said consultants and resident doctors withdrew their services at the hospital.

    At the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Benin in Edo State, emergency cases were rejected but some patients were still at the ward when our reporter visited.

    Some out-patients said they were not aware of the strike. They waited several hours and later left.

    At the Central Hospital, patients were not also attended to. Some were discharged yesterday.

    President of the UBTH chapter of the Association of Resident Doctors, Dr. Goodluck Imodu said only in-patients with critical cases were looked at. He said the strike was total.

    “The strike is total. We don’t want to suffer the people during the Yuletide. We cannot leave the in-patients who are critical; we look at them once in a while.

    “We don’t attend to emergency cases. We allow private hospitals to operate for people not to suffer.”

    At the University College Hospital, Ibadan, and State Hospital, Adeoyo, also in Ibadan as well as Oni and Sons, doctors were not attending to patients.

    But at the hospitals, senior medical officers were around to attend to emergencies.

    The development led to some in- patients being transferred to private hospitals for proper medical attention.

    Addressing reporters in Ibadan yesterday, NMA Chairman in Oyo State, Prof Adefolarin Malomo, said the chapter complied with the national directive.

    The chairman said the need for the strike was to advocate for the patients and good health care delivery in the country.

    In the nation’s capital, doctors at the National Hospital, Abuja, refused to attend to patients.

    In one of the hospitals visited, doctors were seen attending to patients, though they acknowledged that the strike was on.

    A doctor, who pleaded for anonymity, said: “Yes, the strike by our umbrella body has started, but we here are working.

    “We are tired of these frequent strikes. As I am talking to you now, many patients will die today due to lack of attention.

    “We have been trained to save lives. Their blood will be on our heads, if we fail to save them because of our disagreement with the government.

    “I suggest that the NMA executives continue negotiating with the government while we continue to render our services.

    “They should not compare our work with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

    “ASUU can put modalities in place to cover its scheme of work, but in our case, once a life is lost, we cannot bring it back. I totally disagree with these frequent strikes by doctors.

    “Many of my colleagues are not in support of these endless strikes, but because of fear of being tagged ‘rebels’ by the NMA, they just sit at home.

    “If you check very well some doctors today will join some of our colleagues in the private sector to assist them. As I am talking to you, I am weeping inside.”

    There were medical activities at the General Hospital, Minna, yesterday but doctors at the Federal Medical Centre, Bida, withdrew their services.

    Doctors at the Minna Hospital were seen attending to patients.

    Some of the doctors claimed that NMA officers were yet to communicate the directive to them.

    Though none of them was ready to talk to our correspondent, a dentist said: “Doctors are still working, despite the directive from the national body.”

    At the Federal Medical Centre, it was gathered that patients were discharged on Tuesday.

    The state Secretary of NMA, Dr. Mohammed Makanta, admitted that activities at the General Hospital, Minna, which he described as “partial”, was to enable doctors discharge their patients.