Relatives of sick people in some hospitals in Lagos have started taking them back home as the impact of the strike action by the National Association of Resident Doctors hit hard on Friday.
FirstNews’ visit to some of the hospitals in Lagos showed that consultants were hired to attend to patients.
But despite this effort, the hospitals are overcrowded with sick people and relatives.
At Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi Araba, it was observed that patients were stranded for hours without doctors to attend to them.
Mrs, Adewale Kafayat, who spoke with our correspondent, lamented she and her mother had spent five hours without any doctor to attend to her sick mother.
“I don’t understand what is wrong with this country. Imagine there is no doctor to attend to my mother for the past five hours. Government should please help us. This is the last hope of a common man since we cannot afford private hospitals. Lots of people have gone back home with their people and this may be my only option soon”.
At Yaba Neuropsychiatric hospital, operation was ongoing skeletally. A staff member who spoke with our correspondent on condition of anonymity said, “What do you expect from the doctors? They are also family men like the people in government. They should attend to their needs if they need them back at work.”
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, had threatened that the government would decide the fate of the doctors, if they refused to call off the strike before the weekend.
Recall that the NARD, an association of doctors undergoing residency training, had on Sunday said it would begin “a total and indefinite strike” on Thursday (yesterday) if the Federal Government refused to accede to its demands.
Among others, the doctors are demanding payment of salaries of house officers and an upward review of their N5,000 hazard allowance.