No end in sight as Yaba psychiatric doctors vow to sustain strike

Resident doctors at the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital in Yaba, Lagos, are determined to continue a work boycott that began on July 31.

The doctors are protesting a shortage of medical personnel in the hospital.

In a statement on Tuesday, the executive committee of the association said it reviewed the industrial action and resolved to continue as their demands have not been met by the hospital management.

“The Hospital Management is insensitive to the plight of over 535 in-patients and 220 outpatients daily who now receive suboptimally, if not pernicious, mental health service in the 20 days that this industrial action has been allowed to fester without goal-directed interventions,” the committee said.

“The Hospital Management has blatantly refused to replace the annual exit of resident doctors for the past four years. Instead, they have let patient load and clinical work increase significantly for hapless resident doctors whose health and academic pursuits have suffered irreparably.

“In light of the above, the Hospital Management’s insistence on employing only FIVE locum doctors is highly provocative of our demands. It hardly improves the status quo which already puts overworked resident doctors at the brink of academic failure, health challenges and malpractice suits

“We have resolved to CONTINUE our industrial action to insist on standard mental health care for our clients and quality work experience for our overworked doctors, until such a time the Hospital Management deems it fit to meet our singular demand!

“To this end, we call on Nigerian citizens and the Presidency under the able leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari to prevail on the Hospital Management to do the needful in line with the Next Level Agenda of this administration.”