A visit by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday to some health institutions including the Federal Neuro-psychiatric Hospital, Yaba; Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, and National Orthopedic Hospital Igbobi Lagos, NOHIL, showed full compliance, as resident doctors were not seen working.

NARD, on Friday, declared a five-day warning strike following the expiration of a 24-hour ultimatum issued to the federal government after an earlier 10-day deadline lapsed on September 10 without resolution of their demands.

The issues raised by the doctors include the non-release of the 2025 Medical Residency Training Fund, non-payment of five months arrears arising from the revised Consolidated Medical Salary Structure, as well as outstanding specialist and hazard allowances.

The strike coincides with ongoing industrial action by resident doctors in Abuja and Oyo State, and comes after NARD issued a 10-day ultimatum to relevant government agencies over unmet demands.

The President, Association of Residents Doctors, LUTH, Dr Benjamin Uyi, urged the federal government to address the demands of resident doctors before expiration of the five-day warning strike to  encourage the doctors go back to work.

Uyi said the demands of the  doctors were long overdue, and should have been addressed by the government earlier before now.

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According to him, the demands of the doctors centered on prioritising welfare of the doctors, to make their operations more conducive and motivating.

“Any doctor whose welfare is not met is already a risk to the patients.

“For any doctor to function optimally, his/ her physical, mental health and psychosocial needs must be balanced.

“The doctors are already burnt out and faced with excessive workload and work schedule, and the government is yet to prioritise their welfare,” Uyi said.

Speaking, the President, Association of Resident Doctors, NOHIL, Dr Babatunde Egberongbe, described the incident as “unfortunate”, decrying why FG must always allow strike in the health sector.

Egberongbe, who frowned at incessant industrial actions by health professionals, said it was a major contributing factor to the migration of health practitioners to other countries.

“The poor working conditions for the doctors are the major reasons why many of them are leaving the country to practise abroad.

“Presently, there are limited number of doctors in hospitals across the country, yet the government has not deemed it necessary to prioritise their welfare and demands.

“Let the government as a matter of urgency address our demands, because we are not asking for anything extraordinary,” he said.

Source: NAN

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