News reports have revealed the 3-day warning strike embarked on by the resident doctors at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, on Monday, January 28, 2019.
According to the reports, the strike was embarked upon due to the state government’s failure to employ more resident doctors and house officers at the hospital.
According to the President of the Association of Resident Doctors, LASUTH, Dr Balogun Fatai, the strike also involved both emergency and clinical operations at the facility.
While speaking with the News Agency Of Nigeria (NAN), Dr Fatai said that despite the meetings held and agitations over the situation, the government was yet to assign new doctors to the hospital.
“Although, some House Officers are reporting for work, they are not enough to call off the strike because the resident doctors that form the hub of the work force of the hospital have yet to resume duty.
“We are made to know that the governor has not yet given the approval as expected; that is what is stalling the recruitment of new doctors in the hospital.
“That is why we are embarking on a three-day warning strike, which is total; no member of the association will attend to patients during the strike,” he said.
However, he noted that the consultants at the hospital are and will be on ground to attend to patients adding that the specialists would also do their best to make sure proper health care is delivered.
Dr Fatai went on to stress that the consultants would barely be able to cope without the resident doctors, making it clear that they interact with the patients more as they are the first point of call.
“If these residents are not on ground, it is obvious that work cannot go on smoothly at the teaching hospital.
“We are expecting 172 doctors, at the minimum, to start work; that will cushion the effect of what is going on now at the hospital.
“Essentially, the strike is to pass the message across to the government, so that it feels our pains and gives the needed approval as soon as possible,” he said.
In his defense, The Chief Medical Director of LASUTH, Prof. Adetokunbo Fabamwo, disclosed to NAN that he has done everything possible to make more resident doctors available.
“I am not the one in charge of employing doctors, but have done everything I needed to do to deploy them, “ he said.
