Strike:We’ll be compelled to apply ‘no work no pay’ policy again if … – Fashola

Three days into the strike called by the Medical Guild, umbrella body for doctors in Lagos state, patients in the wards have continued to bear the brunt of the action.   While patients seeking emergency medical attention and those presenting for the first time got some respite in most of the state – owned hospitals in Lagos, patients already on admission prior to the commencement of the strike were left at the mercy of thenurses.Meanwhile, the Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola yesterday threatened to apply the ‘no work no pay policy’ again on striking doctors if they remain on strike.As at 10: 00AM whenVanguardarrived at some of the hospitals, the usual morning ward rounds which normally start at 8: 00AM before the day’s clinics were yet to be carried out.At the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, where healthcare services improved compared to the previous day, (Monday), patients in the various wards lamented what they described as “abandonment’ by the striking doctors.From the male surgical, male medical, female surgical and female medical wards, only nurses were seen on duty attending to patients.Further investigation byVanguardrevealed that the few doctors seen on ground were instructed to focus more on new and emergency patients pending when the doctors would return to their duty posts.Vanguardalso gathered that the doctors working who were mostly consultants and locum doctors were also directed to only attend to the more sick people in the wards.However, most of the patients on admission who spoke toVanguardconfirmed that no doctor had visited the wards since the commencement of the strike.A relative of one of the patients in the wards, who simply identified herself as Toyin, commended efforts of nurses who were on duty.Toyin who came to check on her husband said: “What I observed here since yesterday was that the nurses are more frequent in the wards than when doctors were working. They listen to us and console us. One even told me that very soon the strike will be called off.”Another unidentified nurse lamented that the impact of the strike was telling on the nurses. “Ideally this is what we face whenever doctors embark on strike. It is not new to us again but we just hope they resume on time.”