The Association of Resident Doctors at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH) has declared an indefinite strike over the alleged assault of a house officer by an elderly woman at the hospital.
The strike, which began at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, is the latest disruption to services at the teaching hospital over concerns about violence against healthcare workers.
The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Akwa Ibom State branch, announced the industrial action in a statement issued on its Facebook page on Wednesday after an emergency general meeting of the resident doctors.
The association condemned the assault as “barbaric” and unacceptable, saying healthcare workers must be able to perform their duties in an environment free from intimidation and violence.
It gave the hospital management and relevant security agencies 48 hours to identify and prosecute those responsible for the assault.
“The NMA-AKS hereby demands that relevant security agencies and the management of UUTH within 48 hours of this release, identify, apprehend, and bring the perpetrators of this assault to book,” the association said.
It also demanded the immediate strengthening of security measures across health facilities in the state to protect healthcare workers, patients and hospital property.
Not the first disruption
The latest strike comes only months after another industrial action at UUTH was triggered by an alleged assault on medical personnel.
In May, PREMIUM TIMES reported that doctors in Akwa Ibom embarked on an indefinite strike following a controversial operation by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) officials at the teaching hospital.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that the 12 May operation triggered panic at the hospital, disrupted clinical services and forced workers and patients to flee after witnesses alleged that EFCC operatives fired tear gas during the operation.
The incident centred on the arrest of Eyo Ekpe, a professor and deputy chairman of the hospital’s Medical Advisory Committee.
The hospital’s Chief Medical Director (CMD), Emem Bassey, later said staff members were brutalised during the operation and that five workers, including Mr Ekpe, were arrested before they were released.
The EFCC initially denied allegations that its operatives assaulted or arrested hospital staff but ordered an internal investigation into the incident.
The dispute eventually led the EFCC Chairperson, Ola Olukoyede, to apologise to Mr Ekpe and members of the NMA and order a full investigation. The NMA subsequently suspended the strike.
The recurrence of a strike over alleged violence against health workers at the same hospital raises fresh concerns about the safety of medical personnel and the ability of UUTH to maintain uninterrupted clinical services.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that the federal government had, in August, ordered measures to strengthen the protection of health workers nationwide following the submission of a report by a ministerial committee set up after the UUTH incident.
The committee found that the Uyo incident was not isolated, identifying 18 cases of assault, intimidation or harassment across federal tertiary health institutions in the preceding 12 months.
UUTH management appeals to doctors
Mr Bassey, the UUTH chief medical director, confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES that the resident doctors had commenced the strike but appealed to them to reconsider the action.
“We are doing our best. Resident doctors did commence the strike action yesterday. We are doing our best to assuage the situation,” he said on Thursday morning.
Mr Bassey described the latest incident as “unfortunate”, saying it involved an elderly woman who allegedly assaulted a house officer.
“It was an unfortunate situation involving an old woman molesting a house officer. That is what health workers face all the time and people don’t know,” he said.
He condemned the assault, stressing that no patient or relative has the right to physically attack a healthcare worker.
“Nobody has the right to lay hands on any health worker. There is even a national policy on this now,” he said.
According to him, the hospital management had been engaging the resident doctors to resolve the dispute.
He said he was informed that the patient and the elderly woman involved in the incident returned to the hospital and tendered an unreserved apology.
“I am told the patients and the old woman came in yesterday and tendered unreserved apology. We are hoping that the resident doctors will accept that and move on,” he said.
Mr Bassey questioned the benefit of having the elderly woman arrested, while acknowledging that her alleged action was wrong.
“An old woman did this. What will we gain if we get an old woman arrested? Yes, she erred. But what will anyone gain?” he asked.
He said he hoped the resident doctors would accept the apology and return to work.
Security challenge on preventing future assault
On measures to prevent further assaults, the CMD said UUTH had always maintained security arrangements but acknowledged that it would be difficult to provide security personnel in every unit around the clock.
“The hospital has always put in place security measures but it would be near impossible to cover every unit 24 hours,” he said.
He said the issue also required a change in public attitude towards healthcare workers.
“It is about the society. People need to understand and be responsible for their actions,” he said.
Mr Bassey called on patients and their relatives who are dissatisfied with the conduct of health workers to use established complaint mechanisms rather than resort to violence.
“People should understand that they can be upset and there are proper mechanisms to seek redress but not to put your hands on any health worker irrespective of the rank of that health worker,” he said.
“Health workers are human beings too. They could make mistakes. Their mistakes do not give you the right to molest any health worker. Seek redress through the proper channel.”
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The NMA, meanwhile, said it remained in solidarity with the resident doctors and called on UUTH management and other stakeholders to act swiftly to resolve the dispute and restore normal healthcare services.
The latest disruption also comes against the backdrop of previous strikes that have affected services at UUTH.
In January, PREMIUM TIMES reported that an ongoing nationwide strike by the Joint Health Sector Unions had left only skeletal services at the hospital, with key departments including pharmacy, laboratory and radiology shut. Patients were forced to seek services outside the hospital at additional cost.
With the latest strike centred specifically on the safety of medical personnel, patients at UUTH now face another disruption to healthcare services less than four months after the hospital emerged from the previous crisis involving alleged assault of its workers.
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