Ogun doctors to embark on warning strike over assault

The Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) of the Federal Medical Centre, Idi-Aba, Ogun State, on Tuesday announced that its doctors were embarking on a 24-hours warning strike over assault of a doctor on duty.

This disclosure was made by the president of the association, Dr Adekunle Jimoh while speaking with journalists on Tuesday at the hospital in Abeokuta,

According to Jimoh, the frequent assault on health workers by patients was becoming a menace in the health sector.

He complained that health workers were targeted, beaten and lynched outside the hospital, but now the assault is now being experienced inside the hospital.

“We, the doctors say this is unacceptable and we are not going to tolerate such acts any longer.

“A member of ours was assaulted yesterday around 6.30 p.m by a patient’s relative in the cause of the doctor trying to take care of a patient.

“In the cause of that, we have decided to down tool for at least 24 hours, which started today to press home our demand.

“We should have said we should go on indefinite strike but we also want to put other patients who are not involved into consideration,” he said.

Read also: Resident doctors to embark on 3-day warning strike in Ogun amid COVID-19 spread

He however, noted that they were not going on strike on the usual request of doctors asking for more money but to end the menace of violence against health workers, saying it is unacceptable.

Narrating the incident to journalists, Jimoh said that the assault on the doctor, Jelili Gbajumo, transpired when a female patient who was putting on a flowing long Hijab entered the neonatal ward.

He added that Gbajumo corrected her, saying that she was not supposed to wear a flowing gown into the neonatal ward because it could sweep infection into the ward.

“The patient got angry and went to call her husband, who came with another relative, accosted the doctor and slapped him.

“The relative, who slapped the doctor, escaped before other doctors got there.

“No matter the level of provocation from the doctors, it does not give any patient the right to slap a doctor,” Jimoh said.

By Emmanuella Ibe…

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