Doctors’ strike: 6 patients die in Port Harcourt

From TONY JOHN, Port Harcourt,PAUL OSUYI, Asaba, KEMI YESUFU, ONYEKACHI JET and NKIRU EVONGWA, Lagos

At least six patients have reportedly died at the Rivers State-owned Braithwaite Memorial Specialist Hospital (BMH), Port Harcourt, due to the ongoing nationwide warning strike by  medical doctors.

Daily Sun gathered that doctors under the aegis of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) commenced a five-day nationwide warning strike yesterday, over the Federal Government’s failure to address the association’s demands.
Some patients, who spoke to Daily  Sun under anonymity, had appealed to the  government to look into the demands of the doctors to forestall more casualties.
They expressed worry over incessant industrial actions by workers, which had not brought development to the country.


However,  Governor Chibuike  Amaechi, had called on medical doctors in the state to suspend the nationwide warning strike for the interest  of members of the public.
Governor Amaechi stated this during an event marking the 2013 Physicians’ week of the NMA.
In his reaction, the NMA Chairman in the state, Ibitrokoeme Korubo, assured that the association would reconsider  the governor’s plea.
According to Dr. Korubo, who said the strike was not only for the interest of the doctors, disclosed that the doctors had scheduled to hold a meeting with the Federal Government tomorrow.
Meanwhile, patients at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Asaba were hurriedly discharged yesterday as doctors at the hospital joined their counterparts nation-wide for an indefinite strike to press home their demands.

Those who were in critical condition were referred to private medical institutions for further treatment.
Chairman of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) in the state, Dr. Uyi Osarenkhoe told our correspondent in Asaba that the strike was total and not partial as was being insinuated in some quarters.
Dr. Osarenkhoe stated that though doctors were seen around the hospital, they had withdrawn their services in total compliance to the directive of the national leadership of NMA to embark on the industrial action.
A release by the national president of the NMA, Dr. Osahon Enabulele, stated that the industrial action has not been called-off, urging his members and the public to disregard any such information.
Dr. Enabulele implored NMA members to proceed with the planned action for the withdrawal of services from Wednesday December 18, 2013 “until the EDM empowered National Executive Council (NEC) decides otherwise.”

Doctors working in public hospitals in Abuja yesterday fully obeyed the directive of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) to withdraw their services for five days leaving patients stranded.
Hospitals visited by Daily Sun in Abuja showed that the strike action had taken its toll on the first day as most hospitals were empty, while  a few patients were seen around corridors bemoaning their fate.
At the National Hospital, Abuja, the striking doctors had earlier discharged most of their patients from the wards while others who could be managed by nurses were still on admission.
The same situation played out at Wuse and Maitama General hospitals, as Daily Sun also observed patients leaving the hospital complaining with their family members.
At the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Ebutte-Metta, Lagos, yesterday, patients  were seen leaving the hospital after a very long wait for the doctors. Most of them wearing long faces, looking helpless and worried.

The situation was the same at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, as doctors refused to attend to patients with only few consultants rendering skeletal services.
Most of the departments visited were virtually empty, with skeletal services by consultants and nurses going on.
In the Accident and Emergency department of FMC Ebutte-Metta, just one patient who was in critical condition was seen writhing in pain on his stretcher.