Resident Doctors’ Strike: Hospitals Deserted As Patients Turn To Private Facilities

The nationwide warning strike embarked upon by the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has entered its third day, leaving government hospitals across the country with skeletal services and forcing many patients to seek care in private facilities.

Visits to some government-owned hospitals across the country by our correspondents on Friday and Saturday showed largely deserted wards and outpatient clinics, with only consultants, house officers, and nurses attending to patients.

At the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Idi-Aba, Abeokuta, and the State Hospital, Ijaiye, both in the Abeokuta metropolis, our correspondent observed the presence of a few nurses and medical workers providing skeletal services to patients on admission.

The industrial action, expected to last until Tuesday, has left relatives of patients on admission and those in the Outpatients Department to source alternative means of caring for their loved ones.

A Senior Registrar at FMC, Abeokuta, who is also the President of the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) in the centre, Dr. Adegboyega Ridwan, told LEADERSHIP Sunday that the strike action officially commenced at 8 a.m. on Friday due to certain unmet demands presented to the federal government and some state governments.

Ridwan listed some of the unmet conditions that precipitated the strike and explained that arrangements had been made to minimize patients’ suffering at the facility. “We had given a 21-day ultimatum, extended it by 10 days, and even added 24 hours before taking this step.

We considered admissions, patient management, and referrals carefully to ensure patients are not abandoned. Consultants, nurses, and some doctors outside ARD are still on the ground to offer basic care, but the impact of this action will still be felt,” he explained.

At the Federal Medical Center (FMC), Asaba, the Delta state capital, the strike is taking a toll on services rendered, with fewer new admissions of patients.

A patient, Glory, lamented that the strike is becoming too frequent and that she had missed her check-up date with her doctor. “The doctor was supposed to operate on my teeth today, but it has been put off due to the strike. I am experiencing serious pain, thinking I would get relief today,” she said.

Another patient, Andrew Okewe, an outpatient, said they had just lost the transport fare to the hospital that day, while his wife, who was supposed to receive medical advice from a doctor, felt frustrated.

“They said the consultants will attend to us. How many are they? They were overwhelmed by the number of patients. It is difficult to cope because what they charge at the private hospital is unaffordable,” he lamented.

Some aggrieved patients at the hospital protested against the incessant industrial actions of the hospital’s workers, especially medical doctors. They called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to take decisive action in tackling the endemic industrial actions in the health sector.

The patients and their relatives at the hospital expressed their frustration and lamented what they described as an “unbearable strike action” embarked upon by the doctors.

It is alleged that many lives have been lost since the establishment of the hospital in Asaba due to strikes.

The Chief Medical Director, Dr. Victor Osiatuma, said the strike was called by their association, to which the FMC, Asaba branch, is a signatory. Therefore, he said, “In compliance, resident doctors in FMC do not have a choice but to obey the association’s directive.”

New patients, Osiatuma said, are usually admitted under the care of specific consultants, who are expected to take full responsibility for such patients. “With the strike, the centre can admit new patients under consultants. Our General Outpatients’ Unit is also open for services,” Dr. Osiatuma added.

However, normal medical services are ongoing at the Delta State-owned Asaba Specialist Hospital (ASH), with little or no effect of the strike.

The industrial action, which began on Friday, followed the expiration of a three-week ultimatum, later extended by 10 days, issued by NARD to the federal government over unmet demands.

In a communiqué issued at the end of its Extraordinary National Executive Council (E-NEC) meeting held virtually on September 10, the association expressed disappointment over the government’s failure to resolve key issues affecting the welfare of its members.

Among NARD’s grievances are the non-payment of the 2025 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF) to many resident doctors, five months’ arrears from the 25 per cent/35 per cent CONMESS review, the 2024 accoutrement allowance, and other outstanding salary arrears.

The association also condemned the continued downgrading of postgraduate membership certificates issued by the West African Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), as well as the delay by the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria (NPMCN) in issuing membership certificates to successful candidates.

NARD further criticized state governments, particularly Oyo State, for failing to address doctors’ welfare and implement timely disbursement of the MRTF to resident doctors under their employ.

The communiqué, signed by NARD President Dr. Osundara Zenith, Secretary-General Dr. Odunbaku Oluwasola, and Publicity and Social Secretary Dr. Amobi Omoha, demanded immediate action from the federal and state governments.

As the strike lingers, patients who cannot afford private hospital fees are left to either endure the wait until services resume or rely on skeletal care from consultants and nurses in public hospitals.