Resident doctors at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, yesterday protested against the management of the hospital for ignoring their demands on adequate security and non-payment of their salaries for five months, among other issues.

The aggrieved doctors, under the aegis of the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), LUTH Chapter, also began a two-day warning strike.

 

The doctors, who carried various placards with inscriptions such as “Enforce our security, we don’t feel safe”, “LUTH is dead, we are mourning”, “ Pay our outstanding salaries,” “Doctors have become objects of foreign exchange”, “A hungry doctor is a dangerous doctor, pay us,” among others, urged the hospital management to be responsive to their demands.

President of the chapter, Dr. Kayode Makinde, said it was painful that some of the resident doctors in the hospital had not been paid for the past five months.

 

“How do you explain to your family and loved ones that as doctors who work in LUTH, who provide care to the sick and the vulnerable that your life can be cut short even in the line of duty due to inadequate security. Isn’t this a basic requirement to function?” he said.

 

Meanwhile, the Chief Medical Director of LUTH, Prof. Chris Bode, who spoke through the Chairman, Medical Adversary Committee, Prof. Olufemi Fasanmade, said the union members decided to go on strike because the management issued some members query.

 

He said: “The doctors that were issued query based on their conduct have responded, but the ARD wants the management to withdraw the query and apologise, which is not possible. They have decided to lump up other issues, but I can tell you that the reason for their agitation was because of the query issued to some members.”

 

He said that the allegation that some of the members were owed up to five months was false.

 

In a related vein, medical personnel at Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital (COOUTH), Awka, Anambra State, yesterday rejected the minimum wage offer presented by Governor Willie Obiano.

 

The doctors, who vowed to continue with their indefinite strike embarked on since May 13, 2019, said that full payment of their salary should commence from April 2019 as agreed to by government representatives.

 

President of the association, Dr. Obinna Aniagboso, who spoke on behalf of the union, said they would no longer continue receiving 40 per cent of their salary, noting that they were languishing in penury with no progress in their residency training.