How Doctors’ Strike Exposed Abuja Residents to Avoidable Deaths, Untold Torture
The recent industrial action embarked upon by the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) disrupted the health care system and caused agonising pain and avoidable deaths for residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), PRNigeria can report.
PRNigeria gathered that while resident doctors complied with the strike resulting in doctors’ absence from some health facilities, others who were not involved in the strike were overwhelmed with patients having to lose their lives while waiting endlessly for medical attention.
PRNigeria correspondents who went round major government hospitals across the FCT reported how doctors turned their backs on patients as nurses and midwives had to step up to save lives where they could.
Aisha Bologi, an accident victim at Kubwa General Hospital who spoke to PRNigeria lamented the situation and how she suffered pain before getting attention.
She said: “I had an accident on my way home from the office, my leg was badly hurt, almost broken to pieces. I got to the hospital with the help of a good Samaritan.
“There were no doctors on ground, we met only the nurses, who were complaining that doctors were on strike. My husband was begging them to just do something to stop the bleeding, so the nurses went out of their way to call a doctor on the phone to attend to me.
“A doctor came and carried out the surgery all alone with the help of a nurse. I had to wait for a long time before his arrival. The surgery also took several hours because only one doctor came to my aid. I was in pain all through. The worst set of people to go on strike are doctors.”
She also narrated how she and her husband were ripped off in the Hospital, having to pay for routine services and buying everything used in treating her including syringes and needles.
She added that she saw emergency cases who were at the point of death turned back by nurses due to the absence of doctors.
Our correspondents also gathered that at least two people, including an infant, died in the Hospital due to the absence of doctors.
PRNigeria correspondents also visited Garki General Hospital where they found an extreme overload of patients due to the strike in other hospitals within and outside Abuja.
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Patients took over everywhere in the Hospital as many of them were receiving treatment in the corridors due to lack of bed spaces.
A doctor who pleaded anonymity confided in our correspondents that a lot of the referrals from other hospitals observing the strike overwhelmed the place, adding that he had lost count of the number of people that died while waiting for doctors’ attention.
Our crew also saw a distraught lady, Christiana, who was in the Hospital with a kidney patient in need of dialysis.
“I have been here since 7:00 am. I came early so that my brother who has a kidney problem can have the dialysis he was scheduled for. But unfortunately, this is afternoon and we are still here. The doctors said they are busy with other patients and the dialysis machines are not enough, so we have to keep waiting. We don’t have money, if not, we would have gone for the procedure in a private hospital.” Christiana said.
According to our correspondents, the situation was not different at the General Hospital in Kuje where an accident victim was brought in the pool of his blood groaning in unbearable pain but who was left to suffer for a long time because there were no doctors to treat him.
Dr Ochi Christabel, the President of NARD, University of Abuja Teaching Hospital Chapter, however justified the strike action in an exclusive interview with PRNigeria.
She said the strike was not ill-intended and doctors need to be healthy too in order to administer care to patients.
The NARD boss called on the federal government to do the needful and implement the agreements signed with the union so that doctors can stay at their duty posts.
“You need to be fit before you can administer care to others, doctors are not superhuman, we are like every other person with needs.
“Our colleagues are leaving the country due to remuneration, welfare, training and other issues and they are not replaced immediately and this puts pressure on the rest of us who are here. That is why you hear doctors suffering depression or any other form of mental breakdown or even avoidable death.”
“The health sector is really in shambles and health workers are essential in any country hence we should be treated as such. Government must be truthful and respect agreements,” the doctor said.
PRNigeria reports that the strike action has since been suspended by NARD to see whether the government will take action on some of their demands.
