Following a five-day warning strike by doctors organised by the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), hospital services in teaching hospitals nationwide were interrupted on Wednesday.
The National President of NARD, Dr. Emeka Orji, has accused top federal government officials of threatening the association’s members with sanctions rather than responding to the important concerns the group has brought up.
Once the federal government was given an earlier deadline, the medical community announced a strike.
According to Dr. Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Employment, the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, which he claimed was already negotiating on their behalf, received insults from NARD for going on strike.Â
Although some hospitals only provided rudimentary services, several patients said they were told to go home and come back the following week since doctors were on strike.
Several patients were left behind at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, and the majority of them were sent out without receiving the necessary care.
The walkout prevented many outpatients from receiving care, but they were instead given new appointment dates to complete their therapy.
Some of the members of the Association of Resident Doctors in LASUTH (LASUTH-ARD) revealed that other doctor categories at the hospital, such as consultants, medical officers, and doctors undergoing horsemanship, filled the gap by attending to patients whose medical conditions were critical as well as emergency cases.