Doctors’ strike: Patients stranded in Edo, discharged abruptly in Bayelsa

Some patients seeking medical services at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) were stranded Wednesday following a strike by the National Association of Resident Doctors, which paralysed activities at the hospital.

Our reporter, who visited the hospital, observed few patients at the Consultant Outpatient Department (COPD) and General Practice Clinic (GPC) that was usually overcrowded by patients waiting to see doctors.

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Some of the patients, who spoke to our reporter, lamented that there was no doctor to attend to them.

One of the patients, Jessica Shedrach, who brought her child for treatment, said she spent several hours waiting for doctors but to no avail.

Osaro Aluebhosele, a 47-year-old man, who brought his son for checkup said he was going back home after fruitless waiting.

“Most of us depend on government hospitals and don’t have money to travel abroad like politicians. So, the government should do everything possible to save the masses from dying,” another patient, Mr MacAndrew Emmanuel appealed.

Speaking on the strike, the president, UBTH Association of Resident Doctors, Dr. Ifeanyi Ufuani, said the strike has recorded 100 per cent compliance by doctors.

He said though consultants, nurses, pharmacists, who are not members of the association, are on ground, patients would always feel the impact when resident doctors, who make about 70 per cent of the workforce, withdrew their services.

Patients discharged abruptly in Bayelsa hospitals

Patients admitted to different hospitals in Bayelsa were yesterday discharged abruptly as a result of the strike.

At the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Yenagoa, the state’s capital, dozens of patients were asked to go home because the few consultants discharging skeletal services may not be able to attend to them at the ward.

Daily Trust also gathered that the situation was not different at the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital at Okolobiri in Yenagoa Local Government Area.

President of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) at FMC, Yenagoa, Dr Divine Irole, said members of the association have totally complied with the directives and were awaiting further instructions from the national leadership of the union.

“A lot of patients have already been discharged. The consultants cannot cope with the number of patients so they have to be discharged. The truth is that bulk of the work in the health sector is done predominantly by resident doctors,” Irole said.