BY CHIOMA OBINNA

THE end to the protracted doctors’ strike in Lagos State may not be in sight as the  four- week-old strike, on Friday, took a dramatic twist when their colleagues in the federal health institutions in the state threatened to begin a one- week warning solidarity strike by tomorrow.

The solidarity strike is expected to convey to the Lagos State Government the displeasure of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) over the lingering impasse between them and the doctors.

With the latest development, which would remove the only respite left for Lagosians seeking healthcare services in the state public sector, many more preventable deaths are likely to be recorded particularly from emergency and referral cases, if nothing urgent was done to resolve the face-off between the doctors and the state government.

Only patients already on admission in Federal Government health institutions in the state, including Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, Federal Medical Centre, Ebute-Meta and National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, would be attended to during the one-week solidarity strike. No new patient including emergency cases would be accepted.

Briefing newsmen after an emergency general meeting of the state NMA, the Lagos State chairman of the association, Dr. Edamisan Temiye, alleged that the state government had failed to honour its agreement with the doctors that in January 2011, it was going to implement the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS), fully for members of the guild, reinstate Dr. Olaifa, a victimised member, and review the heavy tax doctors pay to the state government.