Nigerian doctors embark on strike over poor welfare

Nigerian doctors at Delta State University Teaching Hospital (DELSUTH) have commenced a one-week warning strike over the government’s insensitivity to major issues affecting the provision of optimal care for patients and the training of resident doctors.

Briefing journalists in Asaba, the state capital, President of the Association of Resident Doctors (DELSUTH), Dr. Harrison Udjah, lamented that the current situation in the state was increasing mortality rates at the hospital and therefore needed urgent attention.

Udjah said that the subvention received by the hospital from the Delta State government is very poor and therefore needs to be increased for better health care delivery.

He said that apart from the subvention, he and his colleagues are also concerned about what they say is the deteriorating infrastructure at the hospital.

He said, “Despite recent renovations, the ongoing decay of the hospital is glaringly evident. The elevator has never functioned, plumbing remains as problematic as it was before the refurbishment, fixtures are falling apart and the air conditioning units and fans have all malfunctioned. working within the hospital has become an extremely distressing experience due to these issues.”

The doctors further lamented the terrible state of equipment at the hospital, stressing that the CT scan machine, MRI machine, mammography machine, endoscopy machine, orthopaedic equipment, anaesthetic machine, ventilators, multiparameter monitors, and electroencephalography machine are among equipment they consider outdated.

They further noted that the “poor salary structure” which, according to them, has forced doctors to seek greener pastures abroad.

Udjah said, “We urge all concerned parties to impress upon the state government the importance of adequately funding the highest referral centre in Delta State.”

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