An empty medical ward at the Central Hospital, Benin, Edo State...on Thursday |
Efforts by the Federal Government to end the strike embarked upon by the Nigerian Medical Association have failed to yield any result.
Consequently, consulting rooms in hospitals in Ilorin, Ibadan, Benin, Lagos, Jos, Calabar, Osogbo, Asaba, Enugu and Kaduna visited by Punch on Thursday were still bare as doctors refused to attend to patients.
It was learnt that the Health Minister, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu who met with the officials on Thursday, had yet to reach an agreement with them.
Negotiations and horse trading to end the strike commenced again as Chukwu returned to the country. However, efforts to reach the minister and the NMA President Dr. Kayode Obembe, failed as they neither picked their calls nor responded to text messages sent to them by Punch.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives intervened in the strike by medical doctors on Thursday, urging the health personnel to suspend the action.
In a resolution in Abuja, it directed the Committee on Health to look into the grievances of the doctors by holding a meeting with the leadership of the NMA within one week.
The lawmakers noted that people who were injured or needed urgent medical care from Boko Haram attacks could die if there were no doctors to attend to them.
They also observed that many sick people and women in labour could suffer untold hardship if the strike was allowed to continue.
Meanwhile, Nigerians have begun to count their losses as the strike action called by the Nigerian Medical Association enters its fourth day. Despite skeletal medical services offered by some of the public hospitals across the country, reports of deaths and abandonment have trailed the action.
In an email to punch, a Nigerian, Sahr Kaingbanja, recounted the death of his brother and rained curses on the striking doctors. “I just lost a brother now as a result of Nigeria so call doctors going on strike Nigeria doctors are inhuman it will never go down well with all the doctors and Nigeria Government,” he lamented.
At the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, on Thursday, patients could not assess treatment as doctors had downed tools. While activities at other departments were in full swing, it was not so at the consulting rooms.
The Public Relations Officer, Mrs. Hope Nwawolo, said the doctors were left with no choice but to comply with the directives from the NMA.
“They have to comply with their national body. We are not taking any new emergency case at all,” she said.
But the scenario was a sharp contrast at the Jos University Teaching Hospital, as management sent all patients home . The Deputy Chairman of the Medical Advisory Committee, Dr. Patricia Wade, who spoke to newsmen in Jos said that the doctors have refused to go to work as a result of the industrial action.
Wade said, “We had to ask the patients to go home, especially those with less severe cases. The consultants are however on ground to attend to emergencies and those on critical condition.”
*This is totally insane.I call on the Federal government to attend to this situation before it gets out of hand.the health even when in full swing is about 20percent operational ,now that it has been shut down it is scary.
These doctors should please go back to work whilst they negotiate...they are not ASUU and cannot afford to go on strike!....I dont see this happening in other parts of the world,Nigeria e don do!..I am so angry!
Federal government should attend to their demands biko....this doctors earn chicken change as salary while some useless good for nothing pot bellies ogas at the top swallow millions on a daily basis...for me,I think doctors,police officers,teachers should not be taken for guaranted...
ReplyDeleteLinda darl did u mean they all shudnt be taken for *granted*?. Dnt blame it on typo error oh..
DeleteLinda shut your stupid idiotic mouth.... They do not earn peanuts did your information...politicians are in a class of their own and how many people can chop money like them? Doctors are just being greedy and using the fact that what they do is a matter of life and death to blackmail govt...... May all the blood of people that will die this period speak against them and their families..... Thank God u will all go 6 feet under like everyone else..... Greedy fools
DeleteGranted
DeleteNice comment linda. Govt shdnt ignore these sectors.
DeleteIts surprising that a Doctor can bear the thought of people dying just like that.
DeleteSmh!
What a country we live in!
Doctors! Federal government! Nigeria! Fear God o! Haba! Warris all dis?
DeleteImagine dis anon 10;36 saying politicians are in a league of their own they can embezzle money while you lament on Stella blog as an unknown crying that you need a job...but doctors that are asking for a sane working environment to cater to your malnourished self is greedy.... Now I see how retarded and low you IQ is.
DeleteMind you we asked for hazard allowances and skipping of a level.
Did you know the govt stopped the funds for training of doctors in residency programs? Naaaaa you don't know cos you don't care and all you care of is cheap health care without your input. And despite that you still scream doctors are insensitive...
Jisuuuz! "Guaranted" ke?
DeleteThis strike is seriously eaten me up..FG should do something ohh
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DeleteDouble wahala for dead body! Strike is now a familiar language in Nigerian, everything seem to be wrong with this country! Sometimes I wonder if Nigeria is cursed or under a spell
ReplyDeleteYour comment will be visible after approval
BLOG ANALYSER: I pray they go back to work soon coz it is the poor masses that will suffer.
ReplyDeleteExactly, it all falls back to the poor masses. If everyone had good money, who will like to go there, we would all fly abroad like our politicians. They should resolve the issue fast.
DeleteFrom the little I heard about the demands of these doctors. It will be very difficult for govt to meet their demands. They are simply outrageous and ridiculous. These guys are payed HEAVILY. They are envied by doctors who work at private clinics. Honestly they are being inconsiderate.
ReplyDeleteEveryone asking for one thing or another!! Phewwwww..does jona sleep at night at all?? I kinda pity him.only him bokoharam bombings,chibok girls,strike,issues with governors
ReplyDeleteUseless Govt.dis Govt is d most clueless ever! Tufiakwa! Everything is just going wrong! And yes,I don't take a job I can't execute well.so take note Jona.so pls kindly step down n let a man wit balls steer dis pur country.I am sick of all dese ills and m sick of u doing nothing...sick of ur senseless committees!
ReplyDeleteNa wa oh.. dis is so so sad! The govt shud heed their demand/request biko! The importance of docs can not be overemphasized oh..
ReplyDeleteI was reading yesterday how a doctor works 3 shifts daily to earn a combined income of 200k! Morning to early afternoon in one hospital, early afternoon to evening in another and night shift in a third just to make ends meet. And someone is saying they shouldn't strike?? That is the only language the Nigerian government understands. Bunch of useless corrupt politicians who have no regard for the people. Don't curse the doctors. If they drop dead because of horrid work conditions and meager compensation today, work will go on. Curse the system and those responsible who keep promising to improve it and don't.
ReplyDeleteHow long shall the Doctors continue to hold the country at ransom??? Inhuman and insensitive bunch!!! Its not as if they operate fully when they are not on strike... the blood of the ppl who have lost their lives are on your hands...
ReplyDeleteMschew!
We are on strike....since we don't operate fully when not on strike why are you bothered now?my dear go and meet those you claim operate fully...
DeleteThe politicians...dat removed daily bread from your mouth....allowing malnutrition to be the order of the day....and giving you reasons to seek for the help of we insensitive bunch....you haven't done anything about.it....you.are here.screaming your lungs blue.....don't worry the blood of those that die daily are on all our hands including you that has a biased mind
Stupid Orela some of us crying just pity the poor cos we can afford private hospitals.....greed greed greed is all I see...
DeleteAnd when you get to the private hospital... I presume you consult the gate man.....
DeleteUv said it all!!! I'll add greed to the list of things wrong with you. Doctors and pharmacists are some of the highly paid professionals in Nigeria! U dont see lawyers 'screaming their lungs blue' crying for money and making outrageous demands all the time... u r not the only professionals out there! if you cant manage wat u r gettn right now, GET OUT! Dont take innocent lives with u pls! There are many unemployed doctors out there that wud jump at the chance to earn half wat y'all earn..but no, oliver twist; u always want more!
DeleteGreedy, stupid, insensitive bunch!!!!
There is a reason why doctors in civilized countries are paid highly. The Nigerian government has undermined the value of our doctors and it's high time they address it. The government won't take then seriously if they don't strike. I know it's messed up that it has to come to this and people are suffering and paying for it but it is a necessary evil
ReplyDeleteThank uuu! Where I live ordinary resident Doctors r paid at least $4000 a month naija Full MD 200k=$1300 n above depending on what ve u. Full MD here annual income(before tax o lol) at least $200,000 I WL leave y'all to change dat to naija... Its high time naija government started taking dem seriously...d sad tin now is d poor masses that will suffer. Sigh Lord help us all.
DeleteInsanity in the highest order!
ReplyDeleteIt only get worst in Nigeria.
I hope they call it off ASAP
Shut up!! Husband snater!
DeleteO mr president this is not nice @ all! Meet their demands so that u will redeem ur name @ least somewhere! Their demands are not so ridiculous afterall!
ReplyDeletethey should pay doctors there money they work there ass out and dont get well paid..
ReplyDeleteStella, pls help us ooo. yesday i saw one of the nurses that attends to us when we go for antenatal. she told me that Doctors dont resume cos of the strike. i asked her who then assist women in delivery. her ans shocked me, we help them but if the woman has complications, hmmm that's wahala. Stella, i was so shocked, she asked me when is my clinic day and EDD. She said we pray they call it off before then.i am 7months gone and cant afford a private clinic now. i pray they call it off by next week.
ReplyDeleteThis ill attempt of the media to keep making the masses hate doctors will only affect the masses negatively. Pharmacists and Nurses want power by all means but cant do the work associated with the responsibility. Can you see why they can never head hospitals? And the government is the cause of all these since they accepted bribes from association of anti-doctors to sign rubbish into law. It's not about the money, it's about the future of the health sector in Nigeria. We cannot throw the health sector into disarray just cos some people want to be doctors so bad without going through medical school. If we allow that, patients will die more. Even, the system will collapse. So, think very deeply and acquire information before turning on doctors. Thank you
ReplyDeleteI feel for the masses....I do...but those health workers that want to head the medical team in the name of nurses,pharmacists, lab scientist,cleaners, substance,physiotherapist all under the body of johesu that want to be called consultants (it's not like I have a problem with that) should kindly attend to the patients.. They are learned,they can enter the operating theatre,they are capable we doctors are so arrogant and useless no problem.... Please no relativity in salary....in short sack all doctors....the masses that equally agree and believe we doctors are insensitive please your lives are in the hands of johesu kindly consult them.....please meet the pharmacist to prescribe your drugs for a disease our beautiful nurses have diagnosed they are professionals please doctors are expendable.
ReplyDeleteShut up are you not the ones who get the most allowances?
DeleteWill you just shut up? Defender. Must u reply every negative comment about doctors? U sound very arrogant which is typical of most doctors. Wat makes you guys think u guys hold pple's lives in ur hands? SHUT DA FULL OFF IDIOT & ALLOW PEOPLE Express dia opinions about doctors & their NEVER ENDING STRIKES@ Orela. Stupid.
DeleteOh God, d strike should be called off ASAP as my pregnancy is almost due and I am yet to register with a private clinic. I am just not comfortable with d private clinics here. #Domina
ReplyDeleteStop fooling your self... If u don't have money say so.... What good services do u get in govt hospitals? U buy everything yourself and wait hours on end to be attended to...
DeleteIf you are in Abuja go to Garki Hospital. Services there are still in full swing and they have no plans to join in the strike action.
DeleteOh God, d strike should be called off ASAP as my pregnancy is almost due and I am yet to register with a private clinic. I am just not comfortable with d private clinics here. #Domina
ReplyDeleteI thought a lot of people agreed doctors do nothing we laze around in AC equipped offices waiting for every order personnel to do everything and then we come once in a week to review their work.....
ReplyDeleteHmmmm.d people that do nothing decided to stay at home for those that work to actually work and yet casualties are on the rise....
And who ever says am arrogant or proud no hard feelings kindly get a jamb form and apply to study medicine if you can't pass please go to Ukraine or any other foreign country and study medicine.....spend at least 7years day in day out..then graduate and not be proud of your efforts.....
Orela shut up already cos u are an irritant.... The only people who miss you are the poor and uneducated who cannot afford private hospitals.....you offer stupid services to them yet u make stupid demands.... A so called doctor like u who spends all her time on commenting on all post just shows how unserious you are..... If u really work and update your knowledge u won't have that time..... Smelly doctor my arse...are u the only ones who study hard? Idiot
DeleteAnd you that can afford private hospitals still come in search of us there?...hmmmmm...
DeleteOne million likes Anon 4:59. Na stupid unserious doctor wey dey get time to de do SDK. Continue Orela oloshi. Shegiya yarinya.
DeleteMy dear I'm on strike I'm free to be an irritant on a post that concerns me....and yes I gat all the time...if you don't like my opinion bounce along and don't mention my name
DeleteAnon 4:59,I have noticed that you like shutting people up on this blog....why don't you get a blog name if you think you have arrived and mouthed...stupid idiot...
DeleteWetin u even de call ya see queen or? Sumtin dey touch 4 ya head abi? Try muah, i go roast u. Anonymous.....
DeleteNa wa ooo.....
ReplyDeleteWhat is the similarity between BH and the doctors now? BH wounds and kills, the striking doctors make it easier for the wounded to die faster than the speed of light. With all that is happening in the country, why choose this time to embark on this strike? So if there are emergency cases like all these injured victims of the bombed areas, these people will be left to die?? I am not saying they should not go on strike to air their grievances, but for pete's sake, not now. One doctor came on air to compare ASUU and NMA. How does asuu relate with NMA? Even if the former decided to strike for 5months, education can only be delayed but not denied, NMA delay and denial can result in mass deaths. When elephants fight (FG and NMA) the grasses suffer. Infact they die and never get revived. So if FG (as na their way) refuses to grant the demands in like a month, so na like this we go dey?
ReplyDeleteOh dear...
ReplyDeletethis is why the average nigerian should get involved in governance issues. u sit back and say its governments problem and u dong realise its on its way to affect u. africans need to get more involved in government issues. ultimately we get affected
ReplyDeleteHow much is tuition to study medicine? These pple stay in school for at least 12 yrs (including residency), they finally graduate and make peanuts.
ReplyDeleteKeep in mind most of these drs spend out of their peanuts to help patients who cant afford basic treatments.
How can the govt pay confab millions, give politicians housing, feeding, clothing, transportation and furniture allowance but cannot give drs anything.
Drs risk their lives, use phone light to see patients cos no light, attend to patients with no gloves, they have to buy water to wash their hands after seeing patients. Before u abuse these drs, sit and chat with at least 5 of them, u will weep.
thank u,cos d pple commenting dnt ve drs in dier houses to knw wat dos pple pass thro dy tink dy r so rich n well paid,I ve 6 drs around me n I knw wat dy pass thro,dy shuld strike stupid politicians dat do ntg 4rm mrng till nyt r buildg mansions
DeleteUnbelievable!
ReplyDeleteOrela dimples must u comment over nd over b4 u explain ur griviances.I kan rily c dat u are a doc.u lack constructve criticism.yam head,watery brain,poros memory.dey suld nt rcum o,bt b4 dat mayb dey suld close d priv8 hospitals too nd c wu looses.
ReplyDeleteSee as that consultant nurse stand dey consult bedsheet, sharamunta!
ReplyDeleteLol. Shey they all want to be consultants now.
DeleteThey should end the strike ASAP!
ReplyDelete"kindly get a jamb form and apply to study medicine if you can't pass please go to Ukraine or any other foreign country and study medicine". This is the most interesting part of your comments so far. Dear Orela, can you compare the standard of training the Ukraine/foreign countries offer with what you get in Nigerian universities? "if you can't pass". LOL. I'd rather fail here, go over there and get a sound education, than pass here and still be sub-standard!
ReplyDeleteMy dear svelte kindly do as you please all I have to say is why not get your standard education abroad and come back and get a substandard working environment and pay...
DeleteMind you if you can't pass doesn't mean the person is dull it means jamb is a stupid exam that doesn't access someone intelligence it's just a way for the govt to steal money from the masses.without equipping schools to carter for the huge crowd that must go to the university because our economic has made it look like if you don't attend a tertiary institution you can't make it .at the end of the day you have people who would score up to 250 in jamb and universities would tell them they didn't get up to the cut off..read Btw the lines...don't display your ignorance
DeleteMy darling, when it comes to medicine and learning properly how to handle d diseases in your environment, u can't compare d standard of education u'll get with said environment with anything else. Oh yes, I'm a doctor too.
DeleteSo you had to rethink in order to formulate a more "reasonable" reply? Fail.
DeleteIdiotic Orela for your mind now u don achieve the ultimate academic excellence.....people who read nursing in America know more than u so just shut your smelly mouth..... 7 years my royal arse
ReplyDeleteHahahahahah when someone that doesn't know their left from their right speak it's so glaring I wonder why you didn't say people that studied nursing in Nigeria.... They are substandard too..ryt??
DeleteOrela all over this post as usual. And you want to compare foreign trained docs to you? SMH for you.
ReplyDeleteWhile you shaking your head...please be careful so it doesn't off...
DeleteI still love you
And still remain me
Inasmuch as I respect doctors, I think it is fallacy to think they are superior to pharmacists, nurses and others.The term " separation of powers"explains it all, we need the docs, the way we need the nurses, the way we need the lab scientists etc.Their duties are different yet interwoven.
ReplyDeleteThey are all professionals in their respective fields, we all do not have to spend the same number of years in the university and this can never be a yard stick for superiority/ relevance.If the nature of your course or field warrants you to spend 20 years in the university, too bad cuz you signed for it.
The Govt can meet their demands half way and reach a reasonable compromise but let's quit mystifying any particular profession please!
Can anyone pls help me wit a good private hospital in nnewi.
ReplyDeletePls
Anon 5.25 PM. E-hugs. Thank you. No one is superior in their various fields. They should learn to work together. People are dying. Even babies are. Please they should call off this wicked strike abeg.
ReplyDeleteConsultant (Lab scientist, nurse, physiotherapist, ward maid, pharmacist etc)... Exactly how do they aim at achieving this title? Is it by coronation or they will have to pass through numerous exams and certifications?
ReplyDeleteIf these amorphous groups claim the doctors are stoping them from reaching the height of their careers, what happens to becoming a professor.
I guess the battle here is that while some people study to become consultants , others want the backyard consultant coronation.
...and without any additional responsibilities ,,,, they just get promoted to consultants.
Meanwhile, can a clerk be promoted to Chief Judge just because he has worked in the court for years.
Hehehehehe.....I laugh in Dutch as I welcome myself to this wonderful blog. I have been following up for years but my comment starts today.
Consultant (Lab scientist, nurse, physiotherapist, ward maid, pharmacist etc)... Exactly how do they aim at achieving this title? Is it by coronation or they will have to pass through numerous exams and certifications?
ReplyDeleteIf these amorphous groups claim the doctors are stoping them from reaching the height of their careers, what happens to becoming a professor.
I guess the battle here is that while some people study to become consultants , others want the backyard consultant coronation.
...and without any additional responsibilities ,,,, they just get promoted to consultants.
Meanwhile, can a clerk be promoted to Chief Judge just because he has worked in the court for years.
Hehehehehe.....I laugh in Dutch as I welcome myself to this wonderful blog. I have been following up for years but my comment starts today.
@ Orela, I realised that people who are too excited about being doctors are those who actually had a torrid time in the medical school. They were people who found it hard to pass; people who failed many times. For that reason, when they come out, they want to be worshiped. People who are brilliant and actually desired to be doctors don’t make much noise. They didn’t enter the profession for money or name, and so they practice it with humanity and love. I have the feeling that you personally have not taken time to look away from yourself and study the roles of other health professionals. Maybe that way, you’ll learn to value and respect them. Focus on developing into a good doctor so that you will not have many questions to answer to God for killing your patients directly or indirectly. Just know that each time you overlook to send a patient to the lab or x-ray, or to the nurse, radiographer or physiotherapy, you’re killing that patient, and when they die, you will answer for their blood. Each time you depend on guesswork and not involve other professionals and your patient dies, you have killed someone! You are all a team.The concept of a medical team is what differentiates developed nations from the rest of the world. Doctors' demands smack of deep-seated selfishness and sardonic oppression. The major reason is that they want to lord it over everyone else in the healthcare team. They are supercilious and selfish in their attempts to dictate for government what to pay other professionals and in defining the career path for others. We can make reference to the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK and we'll find that there is respect and healthy relationship among all health professional. They have Nurse consultants, Consultant Pharmacists, Consultant Biomedical Scientists ( Medical Laboratory Scientists) etc. These people co-exist and work together towards advancing the healthcare of their people. But in our country, the doctors-led health sector has fostered a hugely skewed remuneration scheme that favors doctors. Yet, they want to widen the chasm and snuff out any attempt made by others for a better welfare. They have the right to demand what they want and the spunk to dictate what others should earn. They also want to regulate the level a professional should get to. It is good that this has come out for the public to see the subjugation and suppression nurses, pharmacists, medical lab scientists, physiotherapist, radiographers and other health workers are subjected to in our public hospitals. Even, when these professionals undergo the same quality of rigorous training in Colleges of Medicine or Health Sciences in various Nigerian universities, physicians treat them as non-professionals.The holistic care of the patient is in the hands of all the health professionals.A doctor doesn’t just enter the theatre without preliminary tests like PCV and an already cross-matched blood for possible transfusion. A doctor cannot carry out PCV or cross-matching. Tell them the truth, Orela. So, no medical Lab scientist, no surgery.No radiographer no surgery because you may need an x-ray or utrasound first. Apply this to other health professionals. This is just an illustration of the indispensability of each professional to the team.Doctors should be made to redirect their energies to their primary call.
ReplyDeleteLeadership of the health sector and hospitals should be returned in the hands of health administrators and managers to de-politicize it. If doctors are allowed to continue to foster unhealthy rivalry and acrimony in the sector with their penchant for domineering posturing and imperious repression, then we shall continue to have an efflux of our citizens to India ( a fellow developing nation) and other nations for a better healthcare.