MEMBERS of Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals (NUAHP) of the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) have protested against alleged plans by the hospital's management to privatise and commercialise services at the diagnostic section of the hospital.

The protesting workers, who carried placards with various inscriptions, also alleged that the management had contracted the services of the radio diagnostic section to a private consultant with his own staff. They started a three-day sit-down strike on Monday to force the management to rescind its decision.

However, management of the UITH has debunked claims by the workers, saying that the hospital's X-Ray machine had been in a bad state for some time and that it had not been able to procure a replacement because of paucity of funds and opportunity cost on other essential services in the hospital.

According to a statement by the Head Public Relations Officer of the Hospital, Mrs Funmilayo Omojasola, said the hospital management sourced for an interim solution in form of a partner who volunteered prompt release of his X-Ray machine with a proviso that only his own staff would be allowed to operate the machine due to its sensitivity and also to remove all liability from the hospital in case it eventually becomes faulty.

"The arrangement is a temporary measure pending when the hospital would raise the requisite funds to fix and or buy a new machine. The decision to opt for an alternative measure was jointly taken at a recent meeting between the management and the union," she said.

Meanwhile, some of the placards by the workers had read: "Don't add to the suffering of the masses. We say no to privatisation, we are against privatisation. Labour is against privatisation, privatisation is tantamount to mismanagement of public health, start commercialisation from the theatre not from diagnostic and radiology."

Addressing the workers chairman of NUAHP , Comrade Olatunde Oluwawumi, said members would be in the office without attending to any patient and warned that members would not cooperate with the consultant being brought in given the fact that the break-down of facilities at the section was due to the negligence of management.