Doctors On Strike

The medical workers on Wednesday went ahead with their planned industrial action despite pleas by the Federal Government and well meaning Nigerians.

Medical and dental practitioners under the umbrella body of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) Tuesday announced that the strike will go on as planned due to government inability to resolve the lingering issues between them.

Consequently, activities at most hospitals have been crippled with many patients left stranded as doctors began an indefinite strike.

Doctors at the National Hospital, Abuja, were among the earliest to embark on the strike. Patients who had gone to the hospital for medical attention were left unattended to as they were told bluntly that doctors were on strike.

But it would be too early to say the level of success of the strike as some doctors are still rendering services.

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

A doctor who responded to questions on condition of anonymity, said:”Yes, the strike by our umbrella body has started, but we here are working.

“We are tired with the issue of these frequent strike action. As I am talking to you now, many patients will die today due to lack of attention. We have been trained to save the lives of these patients. Their blood will be on our head if we fail to save them because of our disagreement with the government.

“I suggest that the NMA executives should start negotiating with the government while we continue to render our services. They should not compare our work with that of ASUU. ASUU can put modalities in place to cover their scheme of work, but in our case, once a life is lost, we cannot bring it back.

“I totally disagree with this frequent strike by doctors. Many of my colleagues are not in support of this endless strike, but because of fear of being tagged ‘a rebel’ 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 treat patient. As I am talking to you, I am weeping inside me.”

The Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, had at the weekend insisted that there is certainly no need for another strike in the health sector.

The minister appealed to NMA to shelve their planned strike action, so as not to bring another hardship to Nigerians, particularly in this festive season.