By Chioma Obinna, Nkechi Agina & Ebele Onuorah
LAGOS — The fragile peace in the nation’s healthcare sector is currently being threatened by the ongoing strike by Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists, AMLSN, as other health professional bodies, yesterday, joined in the industrial action.

With this development, patients who have life-threatening illnesses and require urgent medical attention might not live to tell their stories. A visit to some of the public-owned hospitals in Lagos revealed that many patients who arrived at the various hospitals visited by Vanguard as early as 8 a.m. to collect results of their tests could not gain entry into the laboratories.

Efforts by the patients met brick walls as the laboratory technicians who were seen in groups discussing were not moved by the plight of the patients.

One of the relatives of a sickle cell patient could not hold back his emotions over the strike, saying: “Why will they not work. I will hold them responsible if my brother should die.”

From the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi and Federal Medical Centre, Ebute Metta, the situation was the same. Patients were left unattended. Only few consultants and some managerial health workers were seen attending to patients.

In a telephone chat with Vanguard, State Chairman of Nigerian Union of Health Professional, NUHEP and Nigerian Union of Pharmacists, Medical Technologists and Profession Allied to Medicine, NUPMTPAM , Comrade Chris Ugboaja said the Lagos State Chapter had directed that all professional bodies join the work-to-rule strike with immediate effect.

Ugboaja who also threatened that they were also mobilising reputable private laboratories and state-owned laboratories to join in solidarity said: “What the Laboratory Scientists are fighting is not peculiar to them alone but all professionals. It is time irregularities are stopped at all level of our system.”

He further disclosed that the other bodies are joining to stop the stagnation of staff, non skipping of Consolidated Health Salary Structure, CONHESS, non payment of call duty allowance amongst others.