By Bose Adelaja
WHEN, recently, medical doctors in Lagos State embarked on a three-day warning strike to protest what they described as government failure  to fulfill its promises to them based on an agreement reached between the two parties, few could have predicted that their action would result in their being sacked by their employers.

But irked by the strike action which it felt was unjustified, the state government had immediately issued queries to the striking medical doctors, a situation which did not go down well with the latter who responded by going on an indefinite strike.

*Front view of BT, LASUTH under lock and key last Monday

The situation took a turn for the worst when the Lagos State Government announced on Monday May 7 the sacking of the 788 striking doctors and the engagement of 373 new doctors for immediate employment. Unfortunately the face-off between government and doctors has become synonymous with the popular saying that when two elephants fight, the grasses suffer. This is because since the outbreak of hostilities, the average Lagosians have become victims of lack of medical services resulting in many avoidable deaths.

Worse hit by the unfortunate development are the less- privileged individuals who could not afford to patronise  private hospitals whose bills are beyond their reach.  In spite of the intervention of some interest groups, there seems to be no end in sight to the present stalemate which seems to be spiralling out of control. Even the action of  government in recruiting new doctors to fill in the gap has not yielded any significant relief as the situation approaches a crisis point.

Many of  patients who cannot afford private hospital bills have since given up hope. A good example is 54 years old Ayinde Mudasiru, a resident of Meiran, a suburb of Lagos State. He has suffered hernia for some time and has been a regular patient at Ikeja General Hospital and was due to undergo surgical operation on April 23.

Although one of the striking doctors directed him to his private hospital at Alimosho, that was before the ongoing strike, but “Baba Ila”, as he is fondly called, could not afford the exorbitant medical bill at the private hospital and he has since resigned to fate.

As at the time of filing this report, Ayinde writhes in pains, dying silently while he waits in forlon hope for the doctors to call off their strike. Meantime, he has resorted to taking roots concoction soaked with local gin, popularly called Paraga. But his wife Fatimo informs of plan to take him to his home town in Modakeke, Osun State, to seek traditional assistance. “If this strike is not called off, I am likely to become a widow overnight,” she told Vanguard Metro, VM, amidst tears.

Three days ago, another victim, a hair dresser, Madam Abegunde Tolulope, also lost her life during child birth when she was refused admission at Gbagada General Hospital owing to the strike action.  The mother of two became unconscious and died while efforts were on to take her elsewhere.

During VM’s visit to some general hospitals in Lagos, some senior medical doctors were seen carrying out some skeletal services out of humanitarian consideration. Also, VM‘s investigations revealed that many of these doctors engage in private practice; they are owners of private hospitals where they refer many patients for treatment.

At Isolo General Hospital, for instance, all the patients in the ward had been discharged; few outpatients come and are attended to by three very senior doctors while the physiotherapy clinic is open on daily basis. Also, skeletal services were being offered at both dental and eye clinics as well as the laboratories department.

The practice among some medical doctors in Lagos is to engage the services of other doctors and pay them as low as N50,000  per month and their nurses, mainly auxiliaries, between N5,000 and N10,000 per month and they are required to work for long hours. Meanwhile, the least paid medical doctor earns a minimum of N173,000 monthly.

Sometime last year, VM’s visit to General Hospital Lagos revealed that many of these doctors are agents  to some pharmacies and medical laboratories and many patients are usually referred to those places for laboratory tests and purchase of prescribed drugs on commission basis, leaving the pharmacies almost ineffective.

During VM’s visit to some private hospitals in Lagos, many of a crowd of patients  were heard bitterly of exorbitant medical bills, which they blamed on the strike action.  A good example is a commercial driver,  Chukwuma Felix, whose seven years old son is currently undergoing malaria treatment at a private hospital in Orile-Agege. “I have going about trying to borrow as the medical bill is not less than N10,000. The bill would have been less if the strike has been called off,” he lamented.

Before the strike action, VM could authoritatively say that the medical doctors spend less time on each patient but write long, mystifying medical reports without conducting proper tests. But this is unlike what obtains in their private clinics where patients get full attention.

To avoid further casualties, concerned observers say the striking doctors and the Lagos State government need to come to the negotiation table to strike a balance so that the strike will be called off and Lagosians can heave a sigh of relief.