Teaching Hospital Doctors Declare Strike Over Assault On Colleague

The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has condemned the brutal assault of a female house officer at the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH), Sagamu, declaring an immediate withdrawal of services and demanding swift justice.

In a statement signed by NARD yesterday, the association described the attack allegedly carried out by about seven students of Gateway ICT Polytechnic, Saapade, as barbaric, unacceptable and an affront to human dignity and the sanctity of the medical profession.

The young doctor was reportedly singled out and beaten following the loss of a patient at the Accident and Emergency Unit, where she was part of the medical team that attended to the case.

The association said the assault was not only shocking but symptomatic of the growing violence healthcare workers face across the country.

NARD has, therefore, ordered all its members at OOUTH Sagamu, including House Officers, to immediately withdraw their services until the safety of doctors is fully guaranteed.

“In line with our zero-tolerance stance on assaults against our members, all NARD members at OOUTH Sagamu are hereby directed to embark on immediate withdrawal of services. We will not continue to work in an environment where doctors are exposed to physical harm while discharging their duties,” the association stated.

NARD demanded the urgent identification, arrest, and prosecution of everyone involved in the attack while  also holding the management of Gateway ICT Polytechnic, Saapade, responsible for the actions of its students and insisted the institution must produce the perpetrators.

The resident doctors condemned the security lapses within OOUTH and called for an immediate overhaul of the hospital’s security architecture.

NARD urged the government at all levels to prioritise the protection of healthcare workers and enforce strict penalties against violence in health facilities.