Doctors in FG hospitals announce strike in solidarity with Lagos doctors

MAY 17, 2012 BY AGENCY REPORTER 8 COMMENTS

Doctors in Federal Government-owned hospitals in Lagos State are to begin an indefinite strike on Thursday, May 18, 2012, in solidarity with doctors sacked by state government.

Lagos State Government sacked 788 doctors in its employment for failing to respond to queries.

The government queried the doctors for embarking on a three-day warning strike.

The President, Association of Resident Doctors, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Dr. Adetunji Adenekan, announced the sympathy strike on Thursday at a news conference in Lagos, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.

He said the doctors in the Federal Government hospitals would embark on the strike under the aegis of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Lagos State chapter.

The ARD is an affiliate of the NMA.

Adenekan described the state government’s sacking of its doctors and the government’s refusal to negotiate with the doctors as draconian, adding that the actions were in disregard to the rule of law.

The doctor said the sympathy strike was to show that the actions were unacceptable and should not be allowed to persist.

“The ARD-LUTH having followed these events closely from the beginning will like to state that these draconian actions of the Lagos State Government are unacceptable by any standard.

“We view the attitude of the government as an insult on doctors, the medical profession and patients.

“By sacking a total of 788 doctors, the state has succeeded in increasing the patients-doctors ratio to 50,000 to one.

“On this note, the ARD-LUTH as an affiliate body of the NMA, has resolved to stand totally with our parent body – NMA – by complying fully with its directive on this strike,” he said.

He said patients already on admission would be attended to during the strike but emergency units would be locked, while clinics would not hold and new patients would not be admitted.

Adeneken implored members of the association and other NMA affiliates in the state to comply with the strike directive.

He said the association would continue to work closely with the NMA to seek a speedy and amicable resolution of the conflict.

Adenekan admitted that doctors swore to an oath to dedicate themselves to saving lives but urged public support to the doctors’ efforts to rejuvenate the medical profession.

He called on the National Assembly to wade into the conflict to facilitate its resolution in the interest of the health of Nigerians.

NAN reports that the state Chairman of the NMA, Dr. Edamisan Temiye, had on Wednesday announced that the members of the association would embark on strike to protest the state government’s failure to recall the sacked doctors.

Let us see whether Goodluck would sack them as well.then all doctors nationwide would join and they would be sacked as well.lol.