The National Association of Resident Doctors’ strike action has hit hospitals across the country hard.
By Thursday, 1st of April, tertiary hospitals were overwhelmed by the high number of patients, most of whom could not get the needed attention.
Read: Resident Doctors Commence Nationwide Strike
The health institutions had deployed consultants to the hospitals but the sheer number of patients made it impossible for them to cope.
Some patients whose medical conditions were not critical were turned back from some of the hospitals to reduce the workload on the consultants.
Resident doctors in Lagos, Jalingo, Kano, Osogbo, Port Harcourt, Gombe Ibadan and Enugu etc joined the strike, further compounding the tension at the health facilities.
The Federal Government on its part, expressed disappointment and anger over the industrial action which began only a few hours after a Memorandum of Action was signed between it and the resident doctors.
Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige is reported to threaten that government will decide the fate of the doctors should they continue the strike till weekend.
The strike began on Thursday with the National Association of Resident Doctors demanding payment of salaries and an upward review of their N5,000 hazard allowance.
Meanwhile, families have started to evacuate relatives to private hospitals while those who cannot afford private medical facilities prefer to take their loved ones home.
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