Doctors’ strike grounds activities at National Hospital

How poor welfare is turning doctors into patients, by ARD president

Activities at the National Hospital in Abuja were paralysed, yesterday, due to the five-day warning strike embarked upon by the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD).

When The Guardian visited, the ever-busy hospital was a shadow of itself. The Accident and Emergency Unit was without a single patient, while skeletal services were being offered to a few at the General Out-Patient Department (GOPD). Sources told The Guardian that NARD members agreed to impose a N50,000 fine on violators of the strike.

Mrs. Calista Nwoye, who brought her aged mother to the hospital for a check up, lamented that the strike was taking a huge toll on patients, as some were being turned away.

She said: “This strike is not good at all. Things are very hard in the country. People prefer to go to government hospitals because they are more affordable. Government should listen to doctors and improve their welfare and working condition. So many doctors have Japa (emigrated) because of this issue. So, government should treat the ones who are offering services to Nigerians well.”

Chairman, Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) at the National Hospital, Olawale Maruf, described the strike as a total shutdown, saying the action is having a negative impact on the health system because resident doctors make up the largest workforce among doctors in the country.

Explaining the level of impact at the National Hospital, Maruf said: “There is no emergency service and there are no doctors in the clinics and theatres.”

You only have consultants who are not enough to carry out this assignment and few house officers who are not really skilled, who are under training, unlike the resident doctors.”

He added: “We feel for patients because we are human and we want the best for our patients. But the unfortunate thing is the fact that we are human; we can also turn to patients.

“In this hospital, someone was operating in the theatre and collapsed. The person was resuscitated and was on admission for 48 hours. We have had female doctors collapse while attending to patients, as a result of burnout. We had about four doctors who lost pregnancies within the spate of one month.”