Our reporters

LAGOS – Uncertainty that has prevailed in the nation’s health sector in recent times deepened, yesterday, as essential healthcare services broke down completely in federal health institutions following a nationwide strike by members of the Joint Health Sector Unions, JOHESU.

The strike, which took off rather slowly in most federal hospitals in Lagos, gathered momentum by mid-day as more branches of the union in various federal institutions nationwide, joined even as medical and health workers downed tools to protest non-passage of the Mental Health Bill  by the  National Assembly.

Investigation by Vanguard revealed that last minute consultations between management of some of the institutions and the union branches failed to stop the industrial action from commencing as scheduled.

Some workers who attended to patients in the morning downed tools immediately they received directive to commence the strike.

Patients who were at the point of being attended to were left in the dark as none of the health workers or other hospital staff was ready to explain the situation.

At the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, President of the union, Comrade Johnson Adetokumbo Shaba, who confirmed to Vanguard that the strike had started said: “We were left with no choice than this. We have been on this problem for a long time and the management of this very hospital has made matters worst.”

Demotion of members

Shaba who accused the hospital of demoting their members frowned at what he described as “man’s inhumanity to man” said: “We are also aggrieved about the issue of skipping of CONHESS 10.  In the past, once you get to Level 9, you will skip level 10 to 11 but recently, they said it was no longer going to be like that.

Also speaking, Chairman of Joint Health Sector Union, Federal Medical Centre Ebute-Metta, Comrade Ebenezer Akande, accused the Federal Ministry of Health of withholding the outcome of the presidential committee recommendations set up by President Goodluck Jonathan to look into the problems within the health sector.

As press time, the national body of the union was still locked in a meeting with the Federal Government in Abuja on the issue.