LASUTH Resident Doctors Suspend Strike, Engage Govt

Doctors under the aegis of Association of Resident Doctors at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH-ARD) said they have resumed work after a three-day warning strike and are currently engaging the state government.

They added that the outcome of those talks will determine the association’s next line of action.

Recall that LEADERSHIP had reported that LASUTH-ARD had gone on a three-day total warning strike from Monday night, 15 June, to Friday, 19 June, over what they described as a slow implementation of welfare measures, which they agreed with the Lagos State government.

After the Ordinary General Meeting (OGM) of the association, members expressed dissatisfaction that work on the resident doctors’ quarters has yet to resume despite earlier assurances from relevant authorities and stakeholders.

The OGM also noted that arrears of promotion-related payments remain unpaid, a situation the state previously attributed to procedural and systemic issues.

It also mentioned assault, harassment, intimidation, and violent attacks against doctors and other health workers at LASUTH and health institutions in Lagos State and across the country while discharging their professional duties and described the act as inhuman, barbaric, unacceptable, and a dangerous threat to Lagos State’s health system and Nigeria’s already fragile healthcare system.

Those concerns and others led the association to stage the warning strike, which was intended to pressure the government to act. The strike ended on Friday, and members have returned to duty.

President, LASUTH-ARD, Dr Alaba Gabriel Akerele, confirmed the resumption of services and said talks are ongoing. “The strike is over. It was a three-day warning strike. Our members have resumed,” he said.

He added that work on the resident doctors’ quarters began on Friday and that discussions with the Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, and other stakeholders are continuing.

“We have scheduled another meeting for next week, which will determine our next line of action. But for now, doctors are back to work,” Akerele said.