Striking health workers of Federal Medical Centre Yenagoa in a street procession to protest non payment of outstanding allowance
Striking health workers of Federal Medical Centre Yenogoa blocks entrance to facility
Health Workers on Tuesday discharged patients who access health services at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) in Yenagoa following an indefinite strike by health workers in the institution.
The strike death a heavy blow on the preparedness of Bayelsa Government to contain the dreaded Ebola Virus as the medical facility was last week designated as a surveillance centre for the disease.
The health workers under the auspices of Joint Health Sector Unions at the Federal Medical Centre on Monday had embarked on a three day warning strike to demand for payment of outstanding promotion arrears.
The commencement of strike by all categories of health workers and the five weeks strike by doctors has paralyzed services totally shut down the hospital.
At the physiotherapy department, patients were forced out of the complex by representatives of the various health unions who locked up the facility.
Also hundreds of patients were dismissed at the General Out Patients Department where consultant physicians were rendering skeletal services.
Some critically ill patients on admission who were managed by consultants and nurses were also ejected.
“ This is one strike to many, first the members of Nigerian Medical Association and now the other categories of health workers are joining them, it is very pathetic that no one cares for the interest of patients.
“My mother has been under intensive care and managed by the consultants who are not part of the strike, but this time around even the nurses and others have started their own.
“It is so bad that this is happening because my mother was referred to this place because the private hospital I took her to lacked expertise to handle the ailment, where do we go from here?” Moses Salo lamented.
Mr Simon Bernabas, Coordinator of the Joint Health Sector Unions at FMC Yenagoa said on Tuesday that the various unions were compelled to embark on the indefinite strike after a three day warning strike in June.
He said that the refusal of FMC Yenagoa to pay promotion arrears and other outstanding allowances currently being enjoyed at other Federal Medical Centres made the strike inevitable. .
He said that investigations conducted by union officials showed that their counterparts in other Federal Medical Centres were enjoying the allowances.
When contacted the Chief Medical Director of FMC,Yenagoa Dr Ebitimi Etebu he said that the outstanding arrears of allowance was due to funding shortfall.
“ The strike is malicious because it is a National thing, we have explained to the workers that funds to pay them is not with us here and that they will be paid.
“But they just held a meeting and went on demonstrations on the streets, the management is not part of that, they are on their own,” Etebu said.
On the plight of patients in the face of incessant strikes in the health sector, the hospital administrator said that it is regrettable.
“ It is the same thing, the doctors have been on strike for the past five weeks or thereabout and it is the same fate, there are lots of problems in the health sector that the federal government is not addressing.
“So long as these things are not addressed the unions capitalize of them to go on strikes at will, like this one the management got no notification, and they have ejected people receiving care,” he said.
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