Medical Doctor’s warning strike take its toll on patients in hospitals in Imo
CHIGOZIE AMADI
Various categories of patients on admission in government owned hospitals in Imo State are now having some problems of care following the on going warning strike action recently embarked upon by medical doctors Nationwide
The medical Doctors embarked on the warning strike to get the Government meet up their demands
However, investigations showed that the worst hit are patients whose relations could not afford to relocate and seek alternative ways of getting treatment.
Some medical doctors who wanted anonymity but reacted to inquiries condemned the government’s attitude towards labour matters as it concerns their profession and colleagues.
They believed that the Nigerian politicians in government does not care about their workers but about their personal interests hence all the lootings of government resources
However, some helpless patients interviewed called on government to consider them in the hospitals to have meaningful dialogue with the executive committee of the striking doctors and resolve the burning issue
One Mazi Chijioke Mmaram Arindu, a 64 year old man on admission with an alment decried the, ,” uncondusive” relationship between labour and governments in Nigeria
He recalled the case of the federal government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) pointing out that, ” this ASUU, Government issue, disrupted academic programmes of Nigerian students
The patient called on the two warring parties, the Government and the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) to please amicably resolve their problems so as to save lives
According to him, ” since the commencement of the warning strike a lot of patients have died due to lack of medical care ”
Another patient on admission in another hospital Mrs Theresa Onyejiekwe said she had been on admission for quite some time now and that since the warning strike began nobody has attended to her
She urged the people responsible to resolve the misunderstanding between them and come together to save lives, saying, ” government should listen to the medical association while the association should understand with government on it’s stand.
