LAGOS – Prof. Chris Bode, the acting Chief Medical Director of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, Lagos, on Wednesday, urged striking health workers to call off their ongoing nationwide strike.
Bode made the appeal at a news briefing while reacting to the ongoing nationwide strike by the Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU).
He said that the ongoing JOHESU strike had been a great worry and cause for concern to all Nigerians.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the national body of the union had on Nov. 12, 2014 embarked on an indefinite strike to press home its demands.
“On behalf of Nigerians, I appeal to our striking JOHESU members to immediately call off the strike for the sake of medical training and Nigerians who are suffering.[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”10″]
“Since the strike commenced, medical service has not been completely operational because healthcare is a team work. Every healthcare professional is important for utmost patient care.
“Also, negotiations have been ongoing between the government and JOHESU executives with a view to address all issues at stake.
“The Alhaji Yayale Ahmed Presidential Committee constituted to look into issues causing disharmony and conflict in the health sector had since submitted their report in December.
“The Federal Government has set up another committee to produce a white paper for appropriate implementation and recommendations.
“Since the government is also taking all these steps to resolve the issue, I urge our health workers to go back to work, “ he said.
Bode decried the lock-up of hospital facilities and intimidation of other health workers who rendered skeletal services in the hospital by some JOHESU members.
According to him, it is a criminal act to lock up hospital facilities when on strike; a striking worker should stay at home.
“All LUTH staff are to be reminded that going on strike has some rules of engagement.
“Nobody should discourage or prevent patients from obtaining care from the skeletal services rendered.
“JOHESU members are enjoined to refrain from any act that may be inimical to the services rendered by workers not on strike, “ he said.
Bode said that in spite of the strike, LUTH had been rendering skeletal services in the Outpatient Clinics, Accident and Emergency, Intensive Care Unit, Radiology, Pharmacy Department, NHIS clinics and the Microbiology/Pathology laboratories.
He said that patients who could not be discharged had remained on treatment in the wards.
Bode urged health professionals to embrace dialogue rather than incessant strike actions.
“We must embrace dialogue, especially as we are now in the era of democracy, and the currency of interaction in a democratic is dialogue and lobbying.
“That is what we need to go and learn in the health sector if we want to remain relevant to the society we have sworn to serve.
“And I am not talking of JOHESU alone, I am talking of everybody. We must learn how to lobby, so that we would get what we want,” he said.(NAN)
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