Residents say that it was absurd for doctors in federal hospitals to embark on strike since they had no dispute with the federal governmen
Residents of Lagos have condemned the three-day solidarity strike embarked upon on Wednesday by doctors in federal hospitals in the state.
Federal hospitals affected by the solidarity strike are Lagos State Teaching Hospital (LUTH), National Orthopedic Hospital, Igbobi, Federal Medical Centre, Ebute Meta and Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Yaba.
‘Very mean act’
Some of the residents said that it was absurd for doctors in federal hospitals to embark on strike since they had no dispute with the federal government. Easter Ayoola, a patient at LUTH, described the action of the doctors as a “very mean act” that could result in total breakdown of the health system in the state. “The solidarity strike is not justifiable,” she said. “Doctors in federal hospitals are just behaving like murderers by abandoning their duty posts for no reason. Government should consider the masses who cannot afford to patronise private hospitals. If the doctors are insisting on new salary, government should find a way of addressing the issue, instead of subjecting its citizenry to untold hardships.”
Tobi Aderele, a clerk, said that it was no longer news that federal government workers earned more than their counterparts at the state level. “The Lagos State Government must learn to act fast on issues that are very sensitive and not treat professionals like animals,” he said. Another patient, Wuraola Ismah, said that patients were being made to suffer for no reason. “For the past 10 weeks we cannot access free health in state hospitals, now the federal hospitals are withdrawing their services too, do they want to kill everybody in Lagos?,” she said.
Ending the gridlock
Meanwhile, Olayinka Atilola, the immediate past President, National Association of Resident Doctors, said that the doctors wanted a written agreement with the government on the new Consolidated Salary Structure (CONMESS) approved by the federal government. “Lagos is an autonomous state and always in the forefront but we are surprised with the manner in which the government is handling the issue,” he said. “It is no longer the right of doctors to consider the lives of the citizenry since the government is failing in its responsibilities, it is now the right of the government to consider its people. The attitude of the government reflects the premium it placed on the lives of its citizenry.”
Mr Atilola urged the state government to enter into negotiation with the doctors to agree on when it would begin the implementation as other states like Ondo and Delta had done.
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