Health workers’ group chair denies shut down of Owo FMC

Urges resident doctors to end strike

The Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Owo, has dismissed reports that the facility had been shut down following the strike embarked upon by resident doctors.

Chairman, United Health Workers Association of the facility, Omoniyi Joseph Olajide, in a statement, yesterday, said the reports were to mislead the public. He said: “FMC, Owo, is not closed. It’s only resident doctors that decided to go on strike.

“Apart from the 85 resident doctors in the hospital, there are 71 consultants in various fields of medicine asides from two National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) doctors, 21 house officers and seven locum doctors.

“I believe that the situation in FMC, Owo, is not the worst in the country. It’s rather unfortunate that the resident doctors in Owo are portraying the hospital in a bad light. There are many good things going on in the hospital to showcase.”

He said that the demands of the resident doctors were not peculiar, adding that it was a general problem, which the Federal Ministry of Health was making frantic efforts to resolve.

Olajide, therefore, appealed to the striking medics to call of the industrial action since the ministry had waded into the matter.