3 days into the indefinite strike by the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), Juliet Jacob Ochenje spoke with patients stranded in government hospitals on difficulties they are facing due to the absence of doctors on duty.
As the saying goes, “when two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers.” And so it is for Nigerians who have been shut out of medical care without any alternative. They are appealing to the Federal Government to do whatever it will take to make doctors go back to work so that they don’t lose their lives to sickness and diseases plaguing them.
NARD began an indefinite strike on Tuesday morning to press the Federal Government for the implementation of many demands that had piled up over the years, including the one-for-one replacement policy for healthcare workers and an end to the downgrading of membership certificate issued by the West African Postgraduate Medical and Surgical Colleges by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria.
Also, they are seeking the immediate payment of all salary arrears; the implementation of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure; increased hazard allowance and the domestication of the Medical Residency Training Act; among others.
When African Health Report (AHR) visited Kubwa General Hospital in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, to see the effects of the strike on the patients in the hospital, our correspondent spoke with some patients on their experiences so far.
“How do we cope when we can’t afford private hospitals?”
Mrs. Mercy Agbo, a mother who took her year old baby for treatment in the hospital, lamented that she had been there for more than four hours without any doctor attending to her. She said she would have sought medical attention in a private hospital but she cannot afford to foot the bill.
According to her, “it is just the nurses that are trying to attend to some people but that’s not sufficient at all.
“The only option is to go to private hospitals but the problem is that we can’t afford it, with the situation of the country, some of us can barely afford to eat three square meals, so taking my sick child to a private hospital for treatment is not really possible at the moment.
“Please we’re pleading with the government to please resolve whatever issues they have with the doctors to enable them resume their duties because if this strike lingers on, obviously, it’s always we the poor masses that we go for it and it will result to escalating the sickness and eventually lead to untimely death due to lack of proper medical attention.
“Right from when I alighted the okada (motorcycle) that brought me and my daughter here, I sensed that there was trouble because the whole hospital was scanty unlike the last time I was here that it was busy and crowded. Please the government should come to our aid.”
Miss Blessing Samuel was also at Kubwa General Hospital when AHR went on assessment. She said she had gotten the result of some tests prescribed by a doctor in the hospital but no one was available to tell her which drugs to buy for her treatment.
“I was advised by someone to go to a private hospital but honestly, I can’t afford such right now because private hospitals will charge me more and I don’t really know what to do.
“The government should please come to our rescue because everything is really getting out of hand; from transportation to feeding and now hospitals. How do they expect we the poor to survive for God’s sake? Please let the government do the needful because the suffering is too much.”
At the Bwari General Hospital, Felicia Sunday is faced with the same situation as Miss Samuel. She told AHR that she took ill a few days ago and after tests were run, she was diagnosed with malaria and typhoid but since she could not afford the drug bill she had to go back to solicor funds from friends and relatives.
However, on returning to the hospital today, she met the place almost empty and upon enquiry, got to know that the doctors were on strike.
“Now I can’t go to the private hospital because I can’t afford it. The government should please come to our aid. Going to private (hospital) is too expensive, coupled with the hardship we’re already facing in the country. Things are really difficult, people are suffering and that also put people’s health at risk.
More touching was the story of Mrs. Aminat Suleiman who came to the Bwari General Hospital all the way from Nasarawa State to get treatment for her sick daughter.
“I came with my sick daughter all the way from Nasarawa State to Bwari General Hospital here. The nurses are really trying their best, they’re cooperating with the patients but they can’t do it all without the doctors, so government should settle whatever is going on with the doctors.
“We put everything into God’s hand because what is happening in this country is beyond human power so we’re believing God for his intervention so that we won’t encounter problems because it is the same problem that brought me to this hospital. If all was well with me and my family, we won’t be here. So we pray that God will touch the heart of our leaders to make things right.”
In view of the dire consequences of the strike on the health of Nigerians and the country at large, the Federal Government must ensure that it fast tracks negotiations and meets demands of the doctors to enable them return to duty.
