LUTH resident doctors begins indefinite strike tooday

The Association of Resident Doctors, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) chapter, on Monday commenced an indefinite strike over their working conditions at the hospital. The President of the association, Dr Ramon Moronkola, said that this was sequel to a 21-day ultimatum and three-day warning strike which ended on Wednesday, June 17. He spoke at a rally/press conference organised by the ARD at the hospital on Monday in Lagos. According to him, the association was compelled to embark on strike after several appeals to the management of the institution yielded no positive response. He said, “the purpose of the strike is not to punish the patients, but to press home some legitimate demands.
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Consultants and some health workers are still attending to patients, but we, as an association, need to send out a message because we are tired of giving haphazard services to the public. “Some individuals are running this institution any how they like; they would not do this were it to be their private practices. “We have bent backwards severally to ensure that we continue service delivery, however, when the person at the helm of affairs thinks that we are wasting our time, then the public should task them. “We are demanding for good working conditions which include making the environment conducive, as well as the implementation of the ‘skipping’ structure as directed by the Federal Government.” 

According to him, there have been several instances where doctors have been harassed by patients’ relatives for non-delivery or delayed delivery of some services without knowing it is an institutional problem. “Doctors have been stagnated for years; and on the skipping, since the 2013 directives by the FG, the management of LUTH has refused to obey. “I am calling on the government to look into the situation in the hospital. “They should come and investigate; we cannot allow a public institution like this to be at the mercy of just some individuals; in places where there are industrial disharmony, questions should be asked. “

There is no constant water supply in LUTH; this is dangerous because diseases, especially communicable ones, can further spread from both patients and doctors. “The light situation is epileptic and the wards are in a sorry state; these need to be addressed urgently,’’ Moronkola said.