New Telegraph

Patients Access Services Despite Doctors’ Strike

Resident doctors in the Federal Capital Territory embarked on a three- day warning strike to protest unpaid salaries, allowances, and poor working conditions, REGINA OTOKPA reports

 

The residents of the Federal Capital Territory woke up to the new that members of the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) were proceeding on a three – day day warning strike over the failure of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to pay salaries, allowances especially disbursement of the Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF) for 2024, and provide a conducive working condition to make the job easier.

This means epileptic health care delivery in public hospitals across the nation’s capital. President of ARD FCT, Dr. George Ebong, at a press conference lamented that doctors in the FCT were owed over six months’ salaries.

While regretting the dire state of healthcare delivery in the FCT, he described the MRTF as essential for professional development, criticizing the delay despite other centers receiving their allocations.

“Doctors have become abandoned projects. While roads and infrastructure are prioritised, the welfare of doctors and healthcare workers is neglected.

The FCT hospitals are in decay, and healthcare delivery is on the brink of collapse.,” he said. Dr. Ebong appealed to the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, to urgently address the situation and prevent an indefinite strike.

“This warning strike is our last resort after countless dialogues and unfulfilled promises. If no action is taken after these three days, we will appraise the situation and may embark on an indefinite strike,” he said.

The association painted a grim picture of the state of healthcare in the FCT, citing severe manpower shortages, outdated equipment, and hospitals operating without basic amenities like water.

“Our hospitals lack essential tools, forcing doctors to improvise during surgeries. Facilities built for 50 beds now handle hundreds of patients daily. The system is stretched beyond capacity, leaving doctors overworked and burnt out,” Ebong said.

The resident doctors therefore called for immediate efforts to replace doctors leaving Nigeria for better opportunities abroad, adding that the current conditions are unsustainable .

They urged Nigerians to support their cause, stressing that a broken healthcare system affects everyone. “This is not about money but survival. We cannot deliver quality care under these appalling conditions,” Dr. Ebong added.

The association warned that further inaction could lead to a complete shutdown of healthcare services in the nation’s capital, urging the Federal Government and stake holders to act swiftly.

Impact

When resident doctors down tools, the first thing one expects to see is chaos in public hospitals. This is because they form the bulk of doctors offering health care services to health care seekers in public hospitals.

Tales of stranded patients was usually the narrative that flood headlines with many running helter skelter, confused on the next line of action.

With the Japa syndrome which has left many hospitals short staffed, the scenario would have been expected to be worst however, this was not the case as health care seekers who were unable to access help at public hospitals devised other means of getting the needed care.

Amaka Okagbuhue disclosed the method to Inside Abuja. “I wasn’t so well. When my neighbour told me doctors were on strike as I was stepping out to the hospital, I quietly changed plans.

“I went to Zenith lab where I ran some tests. I took the result to a very good pharmacy, drugs were prescribed I bought them and I left. Today I am much better.

They can continue the strike for all I care.” Agabi Grace who was amongst those on queue to see the doctor at the Kubwa General Hospital, noted that even when resident doctors were not on strike, accessing care at public hospitals have always been a herculean task.

“What difference does it make? Two doctors are around now, others will come the nurses said so I am waiting for my turn. Maybe when the others come the queue will move faster.

“Even when there was no strike and the junior doctors are around you come to the hospital and still spend at least three to four hours before you are attended to. “If not for lack of funds, I would have stopped using public hospitals.

Private practice has destroyed health services in government hospitals because they are all engrossed with the money they make from their own hospitals that nobody cares.”

Resolution

However, Jane Ademeji has a different opinion. She said that there’s no way the quality of services rendered won’t be affected during strike. “I agree it hasn’t been so good but it would have been better if everybody was manning their posts.

“It’s sad our public health sector is struggling to make so much impact through the various interventions of government but private practice seems to be sabotaging those efforts.

“Government should devise means of addressing the gaps affecting efficient health care delivery in public hospitals. Every doctor in Nigeria has a hospital they focus on or have a private hospital where they are equally working.

Those who patronise the public hospitals are always at the losing end because we don’t get the desired time and attention.

“Majority of the doctors are absent minded, chatting or receiving calls from their secondary places of assignment where they make much more money. It’s a sad one for our public hospitals,” she said.

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