Relatives withdraw patients as doctors’ strike paralyses activities in Kano hospitals

Doctors working in some public hospitals in Kano state have withdrawn their services in solidarity with the ongoing nationwide strike declared by the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD).

Resident doctors across the country embarked on an industrial action on Thursday morning, despite the federal government’s appeal to them to suspend the strike.

At an earlier meeting between the association and the federal government, Chris Ngige, minister of labour and employment, had appealed to the doctors to reconsider going on strike because their withdrawal of services may negatively affect the country’s health system considering the effects of COVID-19.

“With this memorandum of action, we hope you (NARD executives) get to your members to let them understand better that government has moved proactively to address most of the issues ahead of your coming,” Ngige had said.

But Uyilawa Okhuaihesuyi, the association’s president, asked all resident doctors to start the strike immediately, saying “we insist on the implementation of what we wrote on our strike message”.

At the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH) and the National Orthopedic Hospital, Dala, some relatives of patients on admission have already started relocating their family members.

Sani Abdullahi, a relative of one of the patients at the National Orthopaedic Hospital, told TheCable that many patients have been evacuated from the hospital by their relatives since Wednesday in anticipation of the strike.

He said most of the patients evacuated from the hospital were on admission at the spine and rehabilitation centre of the facility.

“Some of the patients evacuated were removed from the facility by their relatives who have the wherewithal to take them to private clinics,” Abdullahi said.

“Other patients were also withdrawn from the hospital due to their critical condition because their relatives cannot leave them in the hospital without proper medical attention.”

Adamu Sani, another relative, bemoaned the commencement of the strike which he said would seriously affect many patients who do not have the means to move to private hospitals.

Saadatu Bello, a female patient, appealed to the federal government and the doctors to resolve the crisis immediately in order to save the lives of Nigerians.

According to her, Nigerians, especially the poor who constitute the majority of the patients that attend the public healthcare facilities in the country, are “seriously suffering”.

Abubakar Nagoma, chairman of NARD at AKTH, confirmed to TheCable that the doctors had joined the strike as directed by the national headquarters of the association.