Welcome, Guest: Register On Nairaland / LOGIN! / Trending / Recent / NewStats: 3,166,677 members, 7,865,720 topics. Date: Thursday, 20 June 2024 at 01:35 AM |
Nairaland Forum / Nairaland / General / Health / Strike Of Deaths And Tears (2502 Views)
WHO Blames Pesticide For ‘mysterious Deaths’ In Nigerian Town / Eko Hospital, A Building Of Deaths? / Dew Bottled Water Causing Deaths In Nigeria? HOAX (2) (3) (4)
(1) (Reply)
Strike Of Deaths And Tears by drwebs: 11:51am On Jul 10, 2014 |
STRIKE OF DEATHS AND TEARS JULY 10, 2014 BY FOLASHADE ADEBAYO AND ARUKAINO UMUKORO Families of victims of the ongoing strike in the health sector take on doctors, Folashade Adebayo and Arukaino Umukoro report Mr. Sahr Kaingbanja, a Nigerian based in the United States, had always known that life is fleeting, a beautiful rose that could wither at noon. But never in his wildest imagination did he think that the events of Tuesday, July 1 could have a place in reality. On that day, his nephew, a newborn, died after he was reportedly removed from an incubator by doctors bent on going on strike at a public hospital in Rivers State. The loss of the baby boy was particularly painful for Kaingbanja. Just a few days old, the baby was born with some complications and needed a life-saving surgery. His parents were told to make the initial N400,000 deposit before the surgery could commence — which they did; and the baby survived that episode. He was then transferred into an incubator where he remained until July 1 when his parents alleged that he was removed from the life-saving equipment. Kaingbanja is irked that doctors could remove a baby from an incubator just to press home the demand for pay rise. On July 1, the first day of the latest strike, Kaingbanja alleged, doctors demanded that the pending N89,000 balance be paid. The new parents rushed to comply but that reportedly did not stop the doctors from removing the baby from the incubator. “Less than 30 minutes after the baby was taken out of the incubator, he died. He was buried that evening. You can imagine how the parents felt and how they are feeling even now. The parents lost money and also lost their son. Is that behaviour on the part of the doctors not inhuman? “It is nothing less than manslaughter and robbery. I believe these doctors should be banned from practice anywhere in the world. This kind of medical malpractice should be stopped in Nigeria. In the West, a doctor can kiss his/her medical practice goodbye for such callousness and outright inhuman treatment because he/she wants increase in pay,” lamented Kaingbanja in an email to one of our correspondents. Kaingbanja is not alone in his grief. He shares that lonely space with a journalist, Mr. Kehinde Akinpelu, who lost his wife, Olayemi, on Thursday, July 4, the third day of the indefinite nationwide strike embarked upon by the Nigerian Medical Association. Olayemi, 43, had complained of a persistent headache which no self-medication could abate. From a private hospital, the couple headed for the General Hospital, Ogbomoso, Oyo State, where doctors reportedly shooed them out alongside other patients. Unfortunately for Akinpelu, time is the most important factor in any medical emergency. His wife had lost time and medical attention at the most crucial period. Spirited efforts by doctors at Bowen Hospital, a private medical facility in Ogbomoso, could not save the mother of five. She died with many unfulfilled dreams, one of which was to see her grandchildren. Akinpelu is hurt that the action of the doctors cost him his wife. He plans to sue the doctors once the mourning period is over. “If it was not for the strike, my wife would still be here with me. We have five children; the youngest is nine years old. I don’t know how to cope. I am so bitter right now. People are dying every day. I am definitely going to sue the doctors,” he said. Where there is no doctor Aside from the mortalities recorded around the nation, the strike has left many Nigerians bedridden and in pain. While some resorted to private hospitals or herbal practitioners for quick relief, others simply accepted their fate, hoping to be alive when the strike is eventually called off. These Nigerians shared their experiences with our correspondents. The octogenarian Pa Benjamin, in his seventies, has difficulty in walking. Since then, he has been undergoing regular tests at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba. He was given another appointment to see the doctor last Thursday for a scan. However, due to the NMA strike, Benjamin, who was brought to the hospital by his daughter, was kept waiting for hours as there was no doctor to attend to him. After waiting for so long, Benjamin, who walks with the aid of a walking frame, got tired and his daughter had to carry him on her back into the hospital ward. They went to check if any of the doctors was around, but they found the X-ray room locked. “We were told earlier by a doctor that he might need surgery, but that a scan and further tests would ascertain if he would need one or not,” the daughter told one of our correspondents but declined to give further information. Cancer patient who needs blood In another ward, three relatives of critically ill Ms. Nkechi Oka had been waiting for over five hours when one of our correspondents met them on Thursday at LUTH. One of the relatives said Oka, who was lying down heavily sedated in one of the wards, needed urgent medical attention but there was no doctor available to see her because of the strike. “She has cancer and needs two pints of blood urgently. We have been here at the hospital since 6am. She took a heavy dose of sedative and needs to be transfused with blood as soon as possible,” said one of them, who gave his name as Ifeanyi Oka. Another relation of hers who did not give his name lamented that his sister would have been transfused with the needed blood since his blood group matched hers if the doctors were available. “I had to leave my workplace to come here. But we have no choice but to find a way to get the pints of blood. We may have to go to a private hospital to get it for her. But the problem is, even when we succeed in getting the blood, where is the doctor to do the transfusion?” he asked, worried. Oka and her relatives refused to allow their pictures to be taken. Later, one of the few nurses around was seen making calls in a bid to convince a doctor to come around to attend to the sick lady. An hour later, the calls had yielded no fruit. “We are still waiting,” Ifeanyi said. When our correspondents visited the other wards, they were almost empty, except for a few nurses and other staff members. At the time, no patient was seen at the accidents, surgery and emergency wards. “All of them were discharged and sent home last week because of the strike,” one of the nurses said. No new patient In the children’s ward, nurses offered skeletal services to a few patients. On enquiry, the nurses said only critical cases were being attended to. “We are not admitting new patients now because of the strike. Only cases that involve severe convulsion and difficulty in breathing are being attended to. The advice I would give to anyone who is sick or wants to bring a patient is to go to a private hospital for now,” said the nurse; adding that they could only help resuscitate a patient if it’s an emergency. Stories of regret about the strike action abound across the length and breadth of the country. Many Nigerians like Ifeanyi are already worried sick about the episode. “This strike is becoming a hydra-headed problem. Not everyone can afford private hospitals or go abroad whenever they fall sick,” he lamented, while hoping that his sister would be lucky to get the treatment she urgently needed then. The doctors’ shopping list At a news conference in Abuja in June, the NMA President, Dr. Kayode Obembe, had said the association had to go on a nationwide strike after the expiration of a two-week ultimatum it gave the Federal Government to meet its 24-point demand. The doctors want government to honour its agreement on certain issues which they claim are vital to the growth of the health sector. A scrutiny of the doctors’ demands shows an admixture of an improved welfare package, a supremacy battle with other medical workers, as well as other matters relating to administration in the health sector. For instance, they demand that the Federal Government should immediately appoint a Surgeon-General of the Federation and the extension of the National Health Insurance Act to cover all Nigerians, as against the present 30 per cent coverage. The NMA also wants government to set up a health trust fund for the upgrading of all hospitals in Nigeria. It is also opposed to the appointment of directors in hospitals but wants the retention of the post of the deputy chairman, Medical Advisory Committee. But a chunk of the 24-point demand of the NMA leans heavily on welfare package. Among other things, the doctors want government to scrap Grade Level 12 for medical and dental practitioners. The implication is that while other civil servants move from grade 10 to 12, medical and dental practitioners would move from grade 10 to 13. Aside from wanting a hazard allowance of at least N100,000 per month for medical doctors, they also insist on the immediate adjustment of doctors’ salaries to maintain relativity and “the immediate payment of the arrears of the corrected relativity for 22 years during which her members were short changed.’’ Furthermore, the NMA requests that clinical duty allowance for honorary consultants be increased by 90 per cent of the Consolidated Medical Salary Scale. “Additionally, all doctors on CONMESS 3 and above must be paid specialist allowance or its equivalent that is not less than 50 per cent higher than what is paid to other health workers,” they added. Now in its 11th day, the strike has defied negotiations, despite many meetings with agents of the Federal Government. Arbitration led by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Anyim Pius Anyim; the Minister for Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu; and the Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, has failed as the NMA maintained its hard stance. Discordant tunes A few days into the strike action, however, affiliates of the NMA are developing cold feet. On Saturday, the Medical and Dental Consultant Association of Nigeria opted out of the strike. Citing a National Industrial Court judgment which stopped the Federal Government from the implementation of its agreement with the Joint Health Sector Union, the MDCAN National President, Dr. Steven Oluwole, urged its members to return to work. “We note without reservations the unnecessary rivalry that has thrown the health sector into endless cycles of strikes and threat of strikes. The MDCAN complies fully with the restraining order on all parties, which is contained in the ruling. “In the same vein, MDCAN expects the other parties to the above suit to comply fully with the terms of the restraining order. Branches of the MDCAN and individual consultants should continue to provide services to patients but should exercise their professional judgment as to the best care feasible and practicable in the current situation,” Oluwole said. The JOHESU, a coalition of health workers, also has an axe to grind with the NMA. In a statement jointly signed by its chairman, Mr. Ayuba Wabba; secretary, Mr. Yusuf Badmus; and the chairperson, AHPA, Mr. Godswill Okara, the JOHESU described the latest strike action as ‘absurd,’ asking its workers to shun the strike. The JOHESU urged health professionals in its fold in both the public and private sectors to “continue to render services within their competence and skills to ameliorate the conditions of patients who seek care in the weeks ahead.” But the NMA has kicked against the stand of the MDCAN and the JOHESU. The NMA President, Dr. Kayode Obembe, maintained that every medical doctor in Nigeria is bound to comply. “Every doctor is a member of NMA; other affiliates are allowed to operate also. We sought legal advice on the court injunction; our legal opinion is that the court order did not mention any reference to NMA and since it did not mention NMA, we don’t want to dwell on it,” he stated. An unending cycle Since 2009 when the circular of the CONMESS was released by the Federal Government, the nation has witnessed different types of strike actions by medical doctors. From warning strike, sympathy strike to full blown strike, patients have been paying with their lives. The CONMESS has proved to be the beginning of the battle for the doctors who are agitating for improved welfare packages. Since 2009, the battle ground has shifted to the states, where governments engage doctors on their payroll in negotiation. Perhaps the bloodiest of the bouts happened in April 2012 between the Lagos State Government and its doctors who were angry at the reluctance of the state government to implement the CONMESS. The 14-week strike, which led to the sacking of 788 doctors, crippled the 26 general hospitals owned by the state and attracted a sympathy strike from the Federal Government doctors working in Lagos. The NMA had planned an earlier showdown with the Federal Government on January 6, but the association later shelved its plans after a five-day warning strike last December. In the last one year, affiliates of the NMA have also had to go on strike to push for peculiar demands. Last month, a three-day warning strike was declared by the National Association of Resident Doctors. The NARD was pushing for the Federal Government to fund residency programmes in teaching hospitals. As the doctors’ strike enters its 11th day today, the nation is still counting the cost. However, for the Publicity Secretary, NMA, Lagos State, Dr. Peter Ogunnubi, the action, although regrettable, would benefit Nigerians in many areas in the long run. In a telephone interview, Ogunnubi said the NMA strike would also ensure that patients are protected. He said, “It would also correct the anomaly which has seen doctors leaving this country en masse, and you know the implication of that to the public. Then, we are asking for a total health insurance for all Nigerians so that a person can go to hospital with his or her identification card and be managed freely on that insurance.” Ogunnubi further said, “In addition, there is the National Health Bill that we are clamouring for. Nigeria is one of the few countries that have no law regulating health delivery. So, a patient is not protected under any law, and if one’s right is violated as a patient, there is no law to protect that person. We are asking for the passage of the National Health Bill so that the health care rights of citizens can be protected. “Also, concerning the rural allowance, today, doctors are concentrated in the cities because there is no out-of-station allowance that is on offer in any organisation. That is why we don’t have doctors in our primary health care system. “Our primary health care system has turned to ordinary offices. But with the rural allowance in place, doctors would then be able to leave the city if they know that they have an additional stipend. As a result, there would be wider distribution of doctors and medical personnel across our villages and towns instead of them concentrating in the cities.” Ogunnubi called on the government to be decisive in tackling the issues raised by the NMA in its 24-point demand. “The present situation now is that the Federal Government is not decisive enough. And confusion would always set into any government which does not want to do what is required in line with international best practices,” he noted. ‘Doctors have the right to go on strike’ However, the Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association, Ikeja branch, Mr. Monday Ubani, said it would be difficult for any aggrieved patient to sue doctors for ongoing strike. He said, “Strike is recognised as one of the legitimate instruments for negotiation and agitation under modern labour law. So, I doubt if a patient can succeed in that action because the doctors are also pursuing their legitimate aspiration in embarking on the strike. “The doctors are also fighting for their rights. So, it’s not a matter of whether patients cannot sue, but whether they can succeed in convincing any court that they have been wronged and that there has been a breach of contract between the patient and the medical practitioner. “But then, it is important that doctors also remember that there is an oath they usually take when they are being sworn in as doctors to ensure that they save lives. Would it be in the interest of the medical profession to continue the strike and then see lives being lost or wasted? I think there must be a balance in this regard,” Ubani said. |
Re: Strike Of Deaths And Tears by chioma134: 2:56pm On Jul 10, 2014 |
The 1st story is probably a lie for the ff reasons. 1. Doctors in public hospitals are not responsible for asking patients to pay up their bills, rather the nurses with the account dept staff are. 2. It is not likely that a doctor will remove a baby from an incubator. Don't forget that nurses are not on strike and will be present to nurse the baby if need be. In d worst case scenario, they would have been advised to move d baby to another hospital, and probably went to source money to settle outstanding bill. However, it is not the duty of the doctor to move a patient on admission after discharge,but that of the nurse. If the nurse on duty deemed it fit to remove the baby out of the incubator eventhough the baby was not stable, then the relatives should sort it out with the nurse. The doctor has no business in the matter. |
(1) (Reply)
BREAKING NEWS: Uniport Student Tests Positive For Ebola / Meet Young Nigerian Girl With The Golden Eyes.that Got People Amazed / Lower Blood Pressure With Beetroot
(Go Up)
Sections: politics (1) business autos (1) jobs (1) career education (1) romance computers phones travel sports fashion health religion celebs tv-movies music-radio literature webmasters programming techmarket Links: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) Nairaland - Copyright © 2005 - 2024 Oluwaseun Osewa. All rights reserved. See How To Advertise. 42 |