Consultants doing resident doctors job – Gombe CMD
Chima Azubuike, Gombe
Following the failure of Federal Government to meet the 13 point demand, Gombe state branch of Association of Residents Doctors (ARD), on Thursday, joined the indefinite industrial action called by it National body.
Speaking on the impact of the strike, Chief Medical Director, Federal Teaching Hospital (FTH) Gombe, Dr. Abdullahi Yusuf, said consultants from across various fields have been drafted to the emergency unit to ensure the running of the facility.
He added that as a teaching hospital research, clinical services which are pivotal to the institution had been affected due to the strike.
He said, “As you know it is a Nation wide strike based on 13-demands that they submitted to the federal government. As far as the institution is concerned you know they have the bulk numbers of doctors in the hospital.
“They are the footsoldiers that drive most of the activities going on in the hospital definitely this strike will affect the normal day to day activities of the hospital. As a teaching hospital our mandate involves; training, clinical services and research.
“Now that they are on strike the training issue has already been affected, secondly, the clinical services, we are only able to maintain only the emergency services our able consultants in the hospital in various fields have been mandated to to take care of emergency services in the hospital. We are trying as much as possible within the limited resources of the hospital to take care of emergency services and we are wishing, praying the issues will be addressed as soon as possible so that we would come back to our normal day to day running of the hospital. I believe that government has already started to engage them and we hope it would be resolved.”
Also, Branch Chairman, Daniel Apollos, said the Association has totally complied to the body’s directives.
He added that it is not true that the Association always looks for reason to down tool, stressing that “there is always a genuine reason for strike, doctors don’t go on strike without a reason and this is the reason we want to put an end to incessant strike by asking government to do the needful.”
“We are on strike. It is so unfortunate on the patients’ part that whenever doctors go on strike they suffer but that is the only option available. We want government to do the needful; it is unacceptable that doctors will work for three months without pay, it is unacceptable that we are exposed to dangers, hazards and then our hazard allowance is nothing to take home,” Dr. Apollos said.
Our correspondent observed that some patients who came without knowing that there would be strike action were caught in the web.
Yakubu Bawa, said “I came with the mindset of seeing the doctor and rushing back to work, but it is taking like forever because of the strike.
