The families of patients on admission at government hospitals in Ondo State have begun to move them out of the hospitals as a result of the ongoing strike in the state, which has denied the patients attention.
The organised labour embarked on an indefinite strike on Wednesday to protest against the failure of the state government to pay their salaries for five months.
Members of the Nigeria Medical Association and National Association of Government General Medical and Dental Practitioners are also participating in the industrial action.
Some patients on admission were seen leaving most of the government hospitals visited by our correspondent in Akure, the state capital on Thursday.
A patient, who identified himself as Alfred Akinkunmi, told our correspondent that he left the state government hospital where he had hitherto been admitted after he was abandoned by striking medical workers there.
He said, “My children advised me to leave the hospital because we don’t know when the strike will end and the doctors and nurses are not coming regularly to examine and treat us again. So I have been moved to a private hospital in Akure.”
However, the Chairman of NAGGMDP, Dr. Gbelela Dolani, said even though the doctors complied with the strike totally, some patients on admission in government hospitals were being attended to.
He further explained that even with the strike, the patients would not be discharged immediately, but attended to and gradually discharged because the profession was to save lives.
He stated, “Our strike is scaled down in a way because we don’t usually withdraw all the doctors.The head of departments are on the ground, the Chief Medical Director, and also the medical directors.
“From the way things are now, we are very comfortable with the compliance, it is good enough,”
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