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From Jude Owuamanam, Jos
The industrial action embarked upon by the National Association of Resident Doctors is taking a heavy toll on the patients in Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), Plateau State.
A patient, Mrs Bature is pathetic. She was expected to undergo lymphoma surgery at the teaching hospital, but it was postponed again. She told Saturday Sun that procedure has been postponed several times because of the strike embarked upon by the National Association of Resident Doctors.
Hundreds of patients like Mrs Bature, have had to bear the consequences of the resident doctors’ action, a situation that a Consultant Cardiothoracic and Minimal Access Surgeon, Dr. Njem Miner, said was taking a toll on the consultants who have to work extra hours to cover the gap.
According to him, the resident doctors represent a large chunk of the operation of any teaching hospital and if such a huge chunk is removed from the system, it will definitely have a significant effect on the operation of the hospital.
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He said: “The resident doctors constitute the bulk of doctors in federal institutions and imagine when such a huge chunk is removed from a system that’s already starved of adequate manpower. The consultants cannot manage the situation alone. So the government must act fast to prevent the situation from deteriorating.”
However, respite is not in sight as the resident doctors said they would continue the strike until their demands are met.
The National President of NARD, Dr. Mohammed Suleiman, told our correspondent in an interview that even though the government has released some funds, it was a far cry to the demand of the doctors.
He said: “Even though the government has released some funds and doctors are currently being paid, we are still at the negotiation table discussing how to implement some other issues.”
Also speaking on the strike, the Chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Plateau State, Dr. Yilji Kumtap, called on the federal government to implement the demands of the resident doctors so as to prevent a collapse of the healthcare system in the country.
