Strike: Doctors sent out of LASUTH as patients scamper for medical assistance

The ongoing nationwide strike has impacted public hospitals, with doctors being sent out of their consultation offices by union officers at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH). This disruption has left patients without care from health workers.

The Guardian learned that some patients were discharged and health workers were sent out due to the strike. Observations indicated that only the hospital’s emergency unit is operational, and patients scheduled to see doctors today are being rescheduled.

At the LASUTH information centre, personnel advised a Guardian reporter to visit a private hospital as most departments were not operational. A patient’s brother, who wished to remain anonymous, stated that those admitted were in their wards without the usual doctors’ rounds or attention.

The pharmacy unit was also affected, with the pharmacy not fully open and functional.

The President of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) told The Guardian that the association, in a recent communiqué, called on the Federal Government to find a common ground to prevent the strike. “We are still hopeful that within the next 24 to 48 hours, the Federal Government will see reasons for the NLC’s mandate and demands, and shift grounds to call off this indefinite industrial action,” he said.

He explained that although NARD is not a member of the Nigeria Labour Congress or Trade Union Congress (NLC/TUC) and is not on strike, they support the NLC/TUC struggle. He added that while their members might show up for work, their capacity to operate is limited.

“Even though we show up at work, we are handicapped. So many things are not allowed to run. We try to collate all our efforts to make the emergency run as much as possible out of respect for the lives of average Nigerians,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) Chairman in Lagos, Babajide Saheed, urged the Federal Government to swiftly address workers’ concerns to end the ongoing nationwide strike.

Saheed expressed that the NMA in Lagos stands with the NLC/TUC in advocating for a living wage for Nigerian workers, noting that growing hardships in the country have led to higher rates of illness and death among the population.