Patients admitted to the Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido-Ekiti, are in anguish as healthcare workers under the umbrella of the Joint Health Sectors Union (JOHESU) have embarked on an indefinite strike that has shut down the health facility.
A firsthand visit to the hospital reveals that people were moving their ill relatives out of the facility due to the lack of attention caused by the strike. Although medical personnel are available, it’s difficult to attend to patients’ needs because the striking workers are the ones in charge of patient records, laboratories and other medical functions required to make proper diagnoses and prescribe treatments.
Imam Abdulazeez Momu, who brought his ailing son from Ikare, Ondo State, expressed his frustration, stating that his son in pain could not receive the medical treatment he needed. He pleaded with the authorities concerned to attend to striking workers’ needs as patients are suffering for their actions.
During an interview with newsmen, Mr. Femi Ajoloko, the chairman of the Ekiti state chapter of JOHESU, who visited the hospital to enforce compliance, said that the directive to embark on the strike was from the national body. He reiterated that the strike would continue until the government fulfilled the salary structure adjustment for their members working in federal teaching hospitals, starting with their demands.
The Joint Health Sectors Union comprises the Nigeria Union of Allied Health Professionals, Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria, Non-Academic Staff Union of Education and Associated Institutions and Senior Staff Association of Universities Teaching Hospitals, Research Institutes, and Associated Institutions.
The leadership of JOHESU gave the Federal Government a 15-day ultimatum to adjust the Consolidated Health Salary Structure for health workers on its platform as of May 9, 2023, due to alleged inconsistencies in the ongoing negotiation.
