Resident medical doctors at the Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Aro, Abeokuta have embarked on a 3-day warning strike as part of the measures aimed at forcing the management of the hospital to improve working conditions of personnel and patients at the facility.
The strike, which commenced Thursday afternoon, is expected to expire on Saturday night before the medical doctors would meet and discuss further strategies that would help them get the full attention of the federal government which is the principal financial authority of the health facility.
The decision of the resident doctors to boycott work for the three days was reached following the injuries sustained by one of them on duty.
It was gathered that the doctor sustained a high degree of teeth bites during the violent protest staged by the on-admission-patients last Wednesday over the deteriorating conditions which patients and staff of the facility had been subjected to.
LEADERSHIP had earlier reported that the on-admission-patients at the health facility staged a violent protest, wherein they accused the management of subjecting them to poor feeding conditions, high cost of medical bills and poor sanitation systems, as well as “wickedly caging them” inside the hospital without proper ventilation.
A resident doctor on duty, as well as three other nurses were violently assaulted during the protest which was later suppressed by police operatives in the state.
Consequent upon this, the Aro Neuropsychiatric Hospital’s resident doctors are also demanding that management of the health facility stops subjecting them to a poor working environment that could lead to their untimely death.
Speaking with LEADERSHIP Weekend, one of the resident doctors who pleaded anonymity said doctors in the hospital have over the years been subjected to poor welfare whereby they are forced to use torchlights to carry out their duties at nights.
When contacted, the public relations officer (PRO) of the hospital, Abiola Ajibola declined comments, but promised to lead our reporter to a top management executive who eventually was not available to comment on the development as at the time of filing this report.
SOURCE: Leadership