NARD Strike: Doctors Sneak In To Save Lives As Nurses Take Over Care At National Hospital

 The atmosphere at the National Hospital in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was strange as it looked deserted and cold due to the ongoing strike by the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), which entered day nine on Friday.

The crowd, which daily thronged the hospital, had vanished and those locked in wards, lying on their sick beds, with nurses, are the only signs of life. The nurses have taken over affairs at the hospital, tending to patients on admission and putting calls to striking doctors when a case becomes critical.

 THE WHISTLER spoke to nurses, pharmacists, laboratory scientists and a house officer, who all confirmed that resident doctors had downed tool since day 1 of the strike.

There was no doctor in sight but THE WHISTLER gathered that some of the striking doctors visit at early hours of the day, to check on some specific patients under admission but leave immediately after giving instructions to the nurses.

A nurse working at the lying-in ward, where patients who had undergone Cesarean Session  are attended to, told our reporter that as of Friday, a few doctors had breezed in and out to see some of the patients.

“There is a limit to which we can go but we are handling the situation. If there is a need for a doctor, we usually call them on the phone. But for those in the ward, because this place is for women that undergo an operation to give birth, we will just call the doctors and they will give us instruction. Some even came this morning to check the ward and they have gone,” she said, on condition of anonymity.

A house officer, Dr Riliwan, also confirmed this, saying “This is my first time in the hospital since the strike started and I am even surprised to see that some of the doctors are here”. He had taken the reporter around the clinic including other wings like the emergency and pediatric wards where there are very few or no patient’s in sight.

“Please Go To Another Hospital”

Despite having nurses present in the hospital, there were limits to the emergencies being handled.

Fortunately, the trauma centre had quite some cases it managed owing to “a few compassionate doctors” who attended to certain cases. But by Thursday the hospital’s Emergency Unit advised patients to go to other hospital.

Our reporter had witnessed how some of the medical personnel at the hospital’s emergency unit refused to attend to one Ndubuisi, who was at the verge of collapse as he struggled to breathe. He was told to seek medical attention elsewhere because his case was critical and he could not be admitted.

“Please I will advise you to seek medical attention somewhere else, there is no one to attend to his case due to the strike. When the strike is over, then you can return” a staff  told our reporter.

 Ndubuisi was feebly gasping for breath, and had swollen legs hanging in the air as he cried out for help from hospital staff who repeatedly told him such was impossible.

THE WHISTLER gathered that it may be risky for nurses and none resident doctors to admit patients with in critical conditions as it may be detrimental to their job. Like Ndubuisi, many patients across the FCT may be facing similar challenges due to the strike.

NARD, FG Standoff

NARD had embarked on an indefinite strike on April 1, demanding that the Federal Government paid the upward review of the current hazard allowance to 50 per cent of consolidated basic salaries of all health workers. They also demanded payment of outstanding COVID-19 inducement allowance since last year, among others.

Reacting to their demands, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, said the Federal Government was implementing the Memorandum of Action one after the other and had, “implemented at least four of them categorically” while others are work in progress.

Ngige also noted that the FG had paid the sum of N4 billion residency allowance for 2020 and it was impossible to pay for this year because “the 2021 budget has not been released to ministries”.

However, the association described the minister’s claims as lies. In a communiqué released on Wednesday, the doctors wondered why the government refused to increase their hazard allowance which has remained at N5000 for the last 30 years.

“The hazard allowances have remained N5,000 for over 30 years. For the Minister of Labour and Employment to feign ignorance of this on national television today leaves a lot to be desired.

“This is an all-time low coming from someone who has been in the Nigerian Senate where monthly hardship allowance for senators is N1,242,122.70,” NARD said.