UITH resident doctors begin 7-day warning strike over poor facilities

The Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) chapter on Tuesday commenced a seven-day warning strike over allegations of intimidation and lack of basic amenities for workers.

President of the association, UITH chapter, Dr. Lanre Olosunde, told newsmen in Ilorin that the industrial action is to press home their lingering demands.

He alleged that the demands have led to verbal assault, harassment, threat and intimidation of their representatives by the hospital management.

Olusunde listed their demands to include recruitment of more doctors, repair and fixing of basic amenities, provision of security, lighting of interns’ quarters, accreditation of courses, acute shortage of oxygen supply and radiation monitoring badges.

He called on the chief medical director of the hospital to desist from threatening or intimidating representatives and members of the association, adding that this has affected effective service delivery at the hospital.

“Topmost on the list of issues and of paramount importance is the persistent and worsening shortage of Resident Doctors.

“This has not only resulted in the fatigue and exhaustion of our members but also the work overload and burnouts from this is now posing grave risk stop the practising licenses, health and lives of members of ARD-UITH.

“In the past two weeks, three of our members have had near deaths experience resulting from burn-outs from current work overload. Two of them collapsed while on tedious and prolonged call duties and had to be resuscitated back to life,” he said.

Olosunde also alerted that there is a shortage in the supply of oxygen, which he said is hampering patient management with the attendant increasing morbidity and mortality among patients requiring oxygen therapy in the hospital.

“Resident doctors on the radiology department are still being repeatedly exposed to radiation in the line of duty without any form of monitoring in the last three years,” he said.

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He added that rather than address issues of the members, “the chief medical director resorted to verbal assault, harassing, threatening and intimidating our representatives and by extension the congress of ARD-UITH”.

Olosunde therefore, urged the management to address their grievances, saying the warning strike begins on January 21 through January 28.

Reacting to the allegations, the Head of Corporate Affairs of UITH, Mrs. Olabisi Ajiboye, said the grievances raised by resident doctors are national issues.

She however, assured that the hospital’s management would look into some of their demands and reach a peaceful resolution.