Tales Of Woes, Sorrow, Anguish And Death As Nigerian Doctors Turns Their Back On Patients (Photos)

National Hospital Abuja 

The hallways, in the last two days, have seen less feet walking through them into the wards. The Accident and Emergency (A and E) units are shut. The Paediatric Ward, Out-Patient Department (OPD) and Oncology Unit are deserted. In droves, relatives have come to take their patients away from government hospitals, either to private hospitals or traditional healers. Nurses are trying their best to mitigate the situation. But dog is dog and man is man. So, many do not trust them enough to care for their sick relations.

From Lagos to Abuja and every nook and cranny of the country, the strike is biting. The best way to put the situation is this: there is fire on the mountain. Ask Pa and Ma Taiwo Igbalode who are Septuagenarians and retirees. As senior citizens, they attend the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja for their routine medical checkups. While Pa Igbalode was contending with arthritis, his wife has some complaints about her teeth. They were on their way to LASUTH, when they were informed that doctors have declared an indefinite strike. They could not understand why doctors are on strike. While Ma Igbalode ponders on next course of action, she stayed back at home, in pains, awaiting the doctors to call off the strike.

 At the same time, her husband wonders why a state-employed medics also embarked on the strike like their federal colleagues

We Bring To You Sad Reports Monitored From Different States Of the Federation as was reported By AIT, Nation Newspaper And National Mirror 

In Anambra 

The strike by the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) and the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) grounded treatment yesterday at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital (NAUTH) in Nnewi, Anambra State.

Doctors in Federal medical establishments started  the action on Tuesday to demand the implementation of the agreement the NMA reached with the Federal Government in 2009 for improved services in the Health sector.

Several patients in the teaching hospital were discharged on Tuesday at noon.

But the situation was different at the Anambra State University Teaching Hospital (ANSUTH), where the doctors were seen attending to patients.

At the Onitsha General Hospital, a patient, Mrs. Obianuju Igbo, expressed worry over the strike.

It was learnt that the doctors at the Anambra General Hospital in Awka were not part of the strike.

They were said to be non-members of the NMA and NARD.

In Abuja, the suspension of services by medical doctors in public hospitals is taking its toll on the few patients remaining in the hospitals.

Our correspondents, who visited some of the hospitals yesterday saw patients being moved out to private hospitals where they could get attention.

At the Maitama Hospital, National Mirror saw two patients being taken out of the hospital by their family members, but learnt that they were not formally discharged by the hospital management.

Though, efforts to speak with one of the families were resisted with visible frustration on their faces, a mother to another patient, who refused to mention her name, said she could not endure the delay in the treatment of her child at the hospital.

She said: “I can’t endure the situation here any longer.

All through yesterday, only a consultant came to attend to us. There is no how you can give the job of a medical doctor to a nurse.

“The nurses are in the hospital, fine, you have the pharmacists, it is OK, but how do you have a functional hospital when the doctors are nowhere to be found.

Is this the hospital a government would boast of? “I know it will be costlier to take care of him at the private hospital, I have no other option; I will take him there.”

At the National Hospital, Abuja, the security officials suspended their usual check on persons coming into the hospital because there were few people coming in.

One of the cleaners at the hospital, who did not want her name mentioned, told our reporter: “Many big people that have their families here have taken them away.

People are always afraid whenever the doctors go on strike. If other workers go on strike, it doesn’t get too bad as it is when the doctors are not working.” 

One of the patients who was interviewed said she had been there since 7 a.m. in the morning and nobody had attended to her.

Another patient, Idoko Awuji, said, “We came in around 7.30 a.m., but on arrival, we were told that there was strike. Although they addressed that we should hold on that maybe some consultants will come in.”

Christopher Ode, another patient, said, "We have been here from 6 o'clock in the morning and up until now, nothing positive has happened."

Dr. Haastrup, added, "We might not admit new patients but we will also attend to emergency cases in the National Hospital."

 In Kogi State, patients in public hospitals were sent home as a result of the strike by the doctors.

When National Mirror visited some hospitals in the state yesterday, patients were seen returning to their homes, while, consulting room, labour room, casualty, outpatients and antenatal clinics were shut down.

Some of the patients, who spoke to National Mirror at the Federal Medical Centre and the Specialist Hospital, Lokoja, said they were asked to go home as doctors would not be available to attend to them as a result of the nationwide strike.

At the FMC, a patient who gave her name as Mohammed Habiba, said she wanted to see a doctor with her baby, but was asked to go back home because doctors were on strike.

A medical doctor in the hospital, who is also the state Chairman of the Nigeria Medical Association, NMA, Dr. Kassim Davison, said no clinic in the hospital was working as labour, casualty, out-patient and antenatal clinics were all shut.

Davison explained that patients, who were stable, had been discharged while those that still required treatment were being attended to by consultants in the ethics of the profession.

At the Specialist Hospital, the situation was not different as patients were asked to go home or visit private hospitals.

A doctor, who did not want his mentioned, said only patients already on admission were being attended to while outpatients were asked to go back. He said the skeletal services being given to patients on admission would be withdrawn as the strike progressed.

Davidson said the state was 100 per cent compliance with the national directive to embark on indefinite strike.

In River State, activities at the Braithwaite Memorial Specialist Hospital, BMSH, in Port Harcourt, were paralysed. Our correspondent, who visited the hospital yesterday, noted that patients were seen leaving the hospital in droves and those whose conditions were critical were loitering the expansive premises.

It was also observed that the outpatients department, OPD, was locked and nobody was seen going in or leaving the sensitive department which serves as the first port of call for any patient.

A lady, who claimed her husband just survived a major operation before the commencement of the strike, told National Mirror that her husband’s case was “stable” and could be handled by the nurse, adding that “the nurses are doing very well”.

A senior nurse, who did not want his name in print, disclosed that almost all the wards had been deserted by patients in line with the directives of the NMA, adding that the few ones still around might be waiting for their relatives to take them away.

In Imo State, doctors were not attending to patients at public hospitals.

The situation at the Federal Medical Centre, FMC, Owerri, was pathetic as activities were paralysed. At Aboh Mbaise General Hospital, over 30 patients were seen waiting endlessly for doctors to treat their ailments. Some of them expressed their frustration to National Mirror.

A patient, Mr. Mike Iheze, said: “We have been waiting here for the past four hours for somebody to attend to us.” Another patient, Mrs. Ugochi Osuagwu, said: “Whatever is the cause of the crisis between the doctors and the government should be resolved quickly for the sake of the suffering masses.

Lagos Teaching Hospital 

Most of us cannot afford private hospitals, so they should help us to bring this misunderstanding to an end.” Some of the wards were scanty as many patients had been withdrawn by their relations to somewhere else for medical attention.

Some of the doctors expressed the fear that many patients would die if nothing urgent was done to settle the crisis. The situation was the same at the Umuguma General Hospital where patients were seen lying critically ill unattended to.

In Delta State, Three patients died as a result of the absence of doctors to attend to them in Delta State. Two patients were reported to have died at the Federal Medical Centre, FMC, Asaba, due to lack of attention from doctors while the third victim died at the Ekpan General Hospital in Uvwie Local Government Area.

One Stanley Osaghae, 38, a trader from Edo State, slumped and died on Tuesday on the premises of FMC Asaba after he was said to have been forcefully discharged.

A source, who did not want his name mentioned, said: “Not knowing what to do, the patient tried to leave the hospital by himself, but slumped at the passage and died.

The doctors forced out all the patients and refused to allow other health workers to attend to patients, that is why the patient made the attempt to leave for help elsewhere but he slumped and died.”

Hospital authorities could not be reached for the confirmation of the report. Medical workers at the Delta State University Teaching Hospital, DELSUTH, also yesterday took to the streets to protest what they described as poor working conditions.

Many patients were left unattended to at Federal Government hospitals in Abia State.

At The Federal Medical Centre (FMC) in Umuahia Abia State, the state capital, patients begged Nation Newspaper reporter for treatment, thinking he was a doctor.

Many of the patients were writhing in pains.

One of them, Sir Fynecountry Ogbonna, said: “I came to see my doctor, according to the appointment he gave me three weeks ago. Incidentally, the nurses told me that doctors are on strike.

“I’ll have to go to a chemist to buy the drugs that will keep me for another seven days, when I hope they (doctors) will be in their offices. In fact, I don’t know what to say. Someone is sick, the doctor gives him an appointment but when he comes, they say the doctor is on strike. That is very disappointing.”

Another patient, who had surgery last Friday, was abandoned at the FMC in Umuahia.

She was said to be in pains because the surgical point had loosened and was oozing fluid to her legs.

Relatives of the patient told our reporter that they were asked to take her home, despite  the freshness of the wound.

But at the Abia State Specialist and Diagnostic Hospital on Aba Road in Umuahia, house doctors were seen attending to patients.

Senior doctors and consultants were not on duty. The situation was the same at the General Hospital in Amachara.

The state’s NMA Chairman Dr. Dan Uzoaga said the unions in the hospitals had been fighting to be at par with the doctors in the past three years.

He said: “Other medical workers have been making things difficult by asking for things that do not belong to them. And the government has been dancing to the tune they have been playing…”

What the doctors want

  The doctors’ grievances are 24.  Kay among them are: the appointment of four Deputy Chairman Medical Advisory Committee (DCMAC)  for teaching hospitals and three for the Federal Medical Centres; grade level 12 (CONMESS 2) in the health sector  must be skipped for medical doctors; the title consultant must only be used by doctors in the health sector; immediate implementation of the January 3 circular; immediate adjustment of the doctors’ salary to maintain the relativity; the passage of the National Health Bill (NHB); immediate appointment of Surgeon General of the Federation;  the entry point of the House Officer should be corrected to CONMESS 1 step 4;  Clinical duty allowance for Honorary Consultants should be increased by 90 per cent of CONMESS ; hazard allowance must be at least N100, 000 per month for doctors; immediate release of the circular on rural posting, teaching and other allowances which must include house officers; and others 

Now, this is wickedness, Man inhumanity to Fellow Man. Our Doctors Have Abadoned Their Oath In Search Of Filthy Lucre And Vain Things