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Resident doctors at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, embarked on a two-day protest to press home their demands.
The President of the Association of Resident Doctors, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, Dr Kayode Makinde, said it was painful that some of the resident doctors had not been paid for five months.
“How do you explain to your family and loved ones that as doctors who work in LUTH, who provide care to the sick and the vulnerable, that your life can be cut short even in the line of duty due to inadequate security. Is this not a basic requirement to function?
“How does one explain a situation where a house officer, the most vulnerable of the doctors, is being owed up to five months’ salaries?”
Makinde also lamented the shortage of medical doctors of all cadres in the hospital, saying that the last time LUTH recruited doctors was in 2016.
He added that when the association tried to discuss its grievances with the management to proffer solutions, the latter resorted to spying on the doctors and issuing queries to them.
Makinde said the union had on Wednesday, began a two-day warning strike and warned that it would be forced to take a firm decision if the doctors’ demands were not met.
Reacting, the Chief Medical Director, Prof. Chris Bode, who spoke through the Chairman, Medical Adversary Committee, Prof. Olufemi Fasanmade, said members of the union decided to go on strike because the management issued some of them a query.
He said, “The doctors that were issued query, based on their conduct, have responded, but the ARD wants the management to withdraw the query and apologise, which is not possible. They have decided to lump up other issues, but I can tell you that the reason for their agitation was because of the query issued to some of its members.
He also said the management of the centre would not pay the doctors their salaries for the period they were on strike, as they had no basis for embarking on the action.
