The healthcare sector in Nigeria faces a severe crisis as resident doctors across the country commenced a seven-day warning strike, leaving consultants and nurses overwhelmed.

The strike, which began on Monday 26th of August, is in response to the abduction of Dr. Ganiyat Popoola, a resident doctor who has been held captive for nearly eight months.

Popoola, a registrar in the Department of Ophthalmology at the National Eye Centre, Kaduna, was kidnapped on December 27, 2023. She was abducted along with her husband and nephew while travelling in Kaduna State. Although her husband was released in March 2024, Dr. Popoola and her nephew remain in captivity.

Meanwhile, the strike has almost crippled activities in public hospitals across the country as patients were seen moving out from government-owned hospitals to private hospitals. At the same time, some were sent back by nurses and advised to return next week as consultants and house officers appeared overwhelmed.

In Imo State, Dr Precious Eteike, the association president of Federal Teaching Hospital Owerri (FTHO), confirmed that their members had joined the nationwide strike.

Eteike told LEADERSHIP that though they were pained to join the strike, as it affected patients, they were concerned about the safety of their colleagues.

“Before this strike, we peacefully protested within the hospital facility, but it didn’t yield any result. We want her released because eight months isn’t days or weeks. She’s a woman in her reproductive years, so you can imagine her wearing just one underwear and probably lacking access to sanitary towels for her monthly period. You can imagine the mental torture. We are not even talking about her mental state because she must be depressed.

“We want the government to guarantee our safety, for those of us who have decided to stay back in the country. Everybody wants to relocate, so there must be a conscious effort to keep everyone safe. We want to call off the strike, but we want our members to be released”, Eteike said.

The situation is not different in Lagos State as the President of the Association of Resident Doctors, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (ARD-LASUTH), Dr Charles Kolawole Aisudo, told LEADERSHIP that the safety of their lives and the lives of their families are in constant danger, saying they cannot continue to work in these conditions.

He said the strike is a call to action for the government to fulfil its primary responsibility of protecting its citizens.

“All resident doctors at LASUTH are on strike. We stand by the decision that was reached on Sunday. We are not begging for money; we are saying that our colleague and her nephew should be released, and if they are not released by Sunday, we will have no other choice but to go on an indefinite strike.

So, we appeal to those handling the kidnapping case to fast-track the process,” he stated.

Though consultants and nurses are on the ground attending to patients at LASUTH, Aisudo said they are overwhelmed as resident doctors at the teaching hospital fully comply with the decision reached during an Emergency National Executive Council meeting on Sunday.

“Resident doctors do most hospital work; thus, nurses, consultants, and other medical staff will need to step up since we are not on the ground. I know it will be tough for them to care for every patient who comes to the hospital daily. We are pleading with the government to intervene as soon as possible so that we can end the strike as quickly as possible,” he appealed.

Meanwhile, a visit to LASUTH revealed that while there are crowds in different units, activities are only partially grounded.

For instance, a patient (Mrs Adesola) at the outpatient unit told LEADERSHIP that she has been at the outpatient unit since 8:00 am, but she has yet to be attended to. “I just wanted to do my routine check-up. Today was my appointment, but the queue has been moving like a snail. I have been here since 8:00 am; this is 12:15 pm, and it is not yet my turn. A nurse told me it’s because there are no resident doctors on the ground to assist the consultant, so I have to wait patiently for my turn,” she stated.

A nurse at LASUTH who spoke anonymously said she is overwhelmed by the crowds. “Today has been a prolonged day for me. Resident doctors are on strike, and it’s affecting our operation. Consultant on the ground cannot see all the patients, so we will have to reschedule some for next week,” she stated

In Gombe State, resident doctors at the Federal Teaching Hospital Gombe and others have joined the seven-day nationwide strike, leaving patients stranded as consultants and house officers cannot attend to all the patients alone.

Speaking to our correspondent, the vice chairman of the Association of Resident Doctors in the state, Dr Kefas Wida, a doctor at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Gombe, said there is full compliance in the state.

He explained that the 7-day warning strike was to express their disapproval of the abduction of their colleague from the National Eye Centre in Kaduna last year.

Dr. Wida stated that the strike resulted from the government’s inaction in rescuing their kidnapped colleague.

He emphasised that the hospital is supposed to be a secure environment, but the abduction of one of their own has made many others vulnerable.

“We are striking to bring attention to the plight of our kidnapped colleague and to demand action from the government,” Dr Wida said.

“If our demands are not met, we will be forced to embark on an indefinite strike,” he added.

Our correspondent reports that the resident doctors in Gombe State, particularly at the Federal Teaching Hospital, have fully complied with the strike. As a result, patients, especially those relying on regular attention, have been stranded and seek alternative care at primary health centres and private hospitals.

In Kwara State, resident doctors at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) have joined the nationwide strike declared by NARD.

The chairman of the UITH branch of NARD, Dr Muhammed Yusuf, explained that NARD members at UITH had handed over their patients and services to the consultants since Monday.

“We have now stayed away from duty in compliance with the directive from the national headquarters,” he said.

He said they would not even provide emergency care during the strike and alleged that the security agencies were not doing enough to secure their Kaduna colleague’s freedom.

At the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital Gwagwalada, consultants and house officers on duty attended to emergency cases.

The hospital’s spokesperson, Sami Suleiman, told our correspondent that the resident doctors are on strike, but that does not mean that the hospital is not rendering patient services.

“We are rendering services to our patients, particularly those in critical need. Some patients were even operated on today by consultants and house officers.

“The hospital is not turning patients back because the house officers and consultants are attending to them,” he said.

On Tuesday morning, patients at the Nyanyan General Hospital Abuja were seen leaving in frustration, as some were asked to return next week due to the ongoing strike.

A patient, who identified herself as Mrs Uyiosa, said she visited the hospital to see a doctor because she hadn’t felt well for days. She told the nurses to advise her to go back and return next week.

CREDIT: LEADERSHIP NEWS