Patients Groan As Health Workers’ Strike Shutdown Ekiti Federal Hospital

Some patients who are receiving treatment at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido-Ekiti are currently groaning in pain.

This is as a result of the strike embarked upon by health workers in the hospital under the umbrella of the Joint Health Sectors Union (JOHESU).

During a visit to the hospital in Ido-Ekiti, people were seen moving their sick relatives out of the facility.

Though medical doctors and nurses were available, it was difficult to attend to patients because health workers on strike are those in charge of patient records, laboratories, and other medical functions needed by doctors to properly diagnose and prescribe treatments.

Speaking with newsmen, Imam Abdulazeez Momu, who brought his son for treatment from, Ikare, Ondo State, expressed disappointment that his son, who was in pain, could not get the medical attention he came for.

Momu appealed to the concerned authorities to attend to the needs of the striking workers, as patients were at the receiving end of their action.

In an interview, the chairman of the Ekiti State chapter of JOHESU, Mr Femi Ajoloko, who had visited the hospital to ensure compliance, said the strike was a directive from the national body of the union.

According to him, the strike was a result of the failure of the federal government to fulfil the adjustment of the salary structure of their members working in federal teaching hospitals.

Vowing that the strike would not be called off until government acceded to their demands, he further noted that their counterparts in state hospitals would soon join the strike.

JOHESU, the umbrella body of health workers’ unions and associations, includes the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria, Nigeria Union of Allied Health Professionals, Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions, and Senior Staff Association of Universities Teaching Hospitals, Research Institutes, and Associated Institutions.

The leadership of JOHESU had in a letter dated May 9, 2023, issued a 15-day ultimatum to the Federal Government over alleged inconsistencies of the government in the ongoing negotiations to adjust the Consolidated Health Salary Structure for health workers on their platforms.