Members of the Joint Health Sector Union, JOHESU, and Assembly of All Healthcare Professionals, AHPN, yesterday fully complied with the directive of their leaders to suspend services in all public hospitals, beginning from yesterday till tomorrow.
The warning strike resulted in virtual absence of services in public hospitals in Abuja and Oyo State.
When National Mirror visited the National Hospital, Abuja, patients were seen in groups and in depressing mood, exchanging words over the strike.
One of the patients, Bimpe Olanrewaju, who spoke with our reporter expressed shock about the action. “I brought my sick mother here, only to be told that health workers are on strike. About a month ago, the doctors were on strike. Is this is how we are going to run public health sector in this country,? she queried.
The situation was also not different at the Federal Staff Hospital also in Abuja, where a private security guard was said to have spent over half an hour pleading with an old patient who managed to come to the facility for treatment and could not be attended to as a result of the strike.
Speaking with National Mirror, Public Relations Officer, PRO, National Hospital, Mr. Hastrupp, who admitted the action had negatively impacted services at the hospital, called for greater understanding between health professionals in the country and government.
According to him, doctors were on ground to attend to in-patients and some out-patients at the hospital, including patients at Emergency Department at the facility.
Demands of the health workers bother on alleged discrimination; failure to implement court judgement; creation of illegal offices, appointment of Surgeon-General for the nation; failure to effect members’ promotion by the Federal Government.
In Oyo State, health care services in most hospitals in Ibadan and other towns were temporarily shut down.
During visits to hospitals within the Ibadan metropolis yesterday, especially the University College Hospital, UCH, Ring Road and Yemetu State Hospitals, activities were grounded as health workers with the exception of medical doctors, shunned their duty posts.
The health workers amongst whom are nurses, health extension workers, administrative officers and hospital orderlies are agitating on issues bordering on improvement in their welfare and have threatened to commence full blown strike if their demands are not met by government even after the current warning strike.
The situation was the same at Community Health Centres at Iyana Offa, Egbeda and Fiditi.
It was gathered that the health workers shunned their duty posts because of the strike.
Medical doctors were, however, seen in all the hospitals visited, especially at the UCH and New Adeoyo State Hospital, Ring Road, carrying out skeletal services.
All efforts aimed at getting leaders of the health workers to comments on the warning strike, however, proved abortive.
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