By Ola Ajayi

IBADAN—AS the strike embarked upon by members of the Joint Health Sector Unions, JOHESU, entered one week, the University College Hospital, UCH, Ibadan was a ghost of itself, yesterday, as patients who came for treatment lamented feeling the impact of the strike.

UCH Ibadan

JOHESU began the strike following the Federal Government’s alleged failure to honour  past agreement reached with the union.

Though Medical Doctors and some senior nurses were seen carrying out skeletal services, Vanguard observed that the administrative offices in the hospital were under lock.

Speaking with Vanguard, Public Relations Officer of the institution, Mr. Deji Bobade said: “The strike is really taking its toll on the hospital and the management. As you can see, only the doctors are on skeletal duty because nurses, who are to assist them, are on strike. We only have some senior nurses on ground dressed in mufti to carry out some essential duties.

“The laboratories are shut. Even our administrative offices are shut. I am around to do some assessment and report to the Chief Medical Director, Professor Temitope Longe, who will be going to Abuja tomorrow for a meeting on this issue.”

He added that: “Emergency cases brought in are attended to by treating and  stabilising  the patients and subsequently discharging them. They cannot be admitted. Current record today has shown that of the 1,000 bed-space available in the hospital, only 116 are being occupied. The doctors have been discharging the remaining patients on admission once their conditions are found to be stable.”

Commenting on the strike, the JOHESU Chairman of the hospital, Dr. Olusegun Sotiloye, said: “The level of compliance is very high. It is the same story all over the country. The Health Minister is yet to invite us to a meeting. The Chairmen of Board of Teaching Institutions and the CMDs will be meeting with the Minister in Abuja tomorrow (today). However, we learned that the Minister has sent a circular that the CMD should engage the services of local officers to replace us. If the CMD should accede to this directive, it would only worsen the situation. Any right-thinking government would not allow such to happen.

“It is going to continue. There had been  sensitisation  programme before the strike. Despite all this, they don’t care about the welfare of the patients. If they want it to continue until one year, we will go on to ensure our demands are met.