Patients stranded as LASUTH resident doctors embark on three-day warning strike
The Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH has experienced a rising number of stranded patients as resident doctors in the hospital have proceeded on a three-day warning strike.
Some of the patients who had already booked appointments with the doctors showed up at the hospital on Tuesday (yesterday) for the scheduled treatment, not knowing that the doctors were on strike.
The doctors say that the strike was unfortunate but necessary in order to make their grievances known to the state government. They had earlier warned that the hospital is understaffed and in dire need of more house officers and resident doctors to ease their workload.
But when the state government and the hospital management were not forthcoming in granting their request for improved welfare, the doctors threatened to go on strike.
The President of Association of Resident Doctors at LASUTH, Dr. Fatai Balogun said that the doctors union embarked on the warning strike to force the Lagos state Ministry of Health to attend to the issues at hand.
In the course of the warning strike, the Permanent Secretary of Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr. Titilayo Gonzalez revealed that plans are being put in place to recruit more resident doctors for the hospital to help reduce their workload.
The patients were given new appointment dates by the consultants in the hospital to return when the warning strike is over.
