Date: 2021-04-06

Patients in the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) appealed to the Federal Government to meet the demands of the striking doctors in the country, a report of casualties of the strike was made.

Speaking with journalists in Ilorin on Monday on their sick beds, the patients said that doctors were no longer attending to them since the strike action commenced last week.

"My name is Abdulkareem Idris, I'm suffering from prostate cancer.

"The doctors complain of a lack of adequate manpower and the necessary equipment to work with. With the high volume of patients in this hospital, there is no enough staff to cope with the situation. I call on the government to provide an answer to their requests because they're working.

"I've been coming here since last year September for treatment of prostate cancer. I was brought here last Tuesday for emergency treatment while the strike commenced last Thursday. I want the government to answer them because so many people are dying. Since I came here, three people have died because no doctor was treating them. You can see how empty the emergency unit and wards are.

"So, we're appealing. Our leaders are not doing well. They travel abroad for treatment when they are sick and leave the hospitals in the country to suffer neglect," he said.

Also speaking, President, resident doctors, UITH, Ilorin, Dr Badmus Habeeb, confirmed that the strike action is 100 per cent successful.

Dr Habeeb, who said that the doctors are being owed three months salary, added that efforts to make the Government see reasons with them failed.

"The government should show responsibility and come to the table to talk on the way out and pay the salary of people they’re owing, so we can go back to our work as we know how to do always.

"The decision to go on strike is quite unfortunate because it’s an avoidable one if the government actors have actually played their roles the way they should have played it. Our members have not been paid three months salary and all efforts to see to it that government negotiates with us and solve the issue has actually failed.

"All our pleas, and the ultimatum given also failed, leading to our members being owed three months salary and no explanation for it whatsoever or how long the situation would linger.

"And that's why we showed the government that the physical and mental health of our members should not be toyed with. Because it's when we are okay mentally and physically that we can give maximum ability on the job," he said.