Olukole Taiwo, Abeokuta
The Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) of Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu, Ogun State has embarked on idefinite strike over the shortage of resident doctors.
The association also called on the State government to immediately attend to the shortage of Resident doctors in the institution
The Doctors in a statement issued and signed by its President. Dr. Osikoya Oludotun and Secretary, Dr Ajose Oluwafemi warned that the shortage in number of resident doctors is having a serious adverse effects on OSUTH.
The Association lamented the enormous persistent decline in workforce over the past several years which has been left unreplaced.
The ARD OSUTH chapter said the State government may not have a reason on why it is not replacing the existed doctors saying that there have been a provision for it already.
"The reason for this is not clear, since we have been informed that the last administration gave a caveat to the management that the wage bill must not exceed a certain value which has been maintained unchanged".
"Therefore, when resident doctors pass their professional exams and exit the system, or decides to resign and relocate for other reasons, it is logical to expect that their salaries should be available to pay workers who are employed to replace them".
The Association noted that the patient load has increased remarkably over the past few years.
It also said that the shortage may cause the loss of accreditation for full training of resident doctors.
'This is already happening. For example, a department has partial accreditation previously, when the accreditation team came again for reaccreditation, they met much fewer residents than the last time they came'.
"There would be no way to give full accreditation in that case".
"Exceeding burnout of workers, leading to low morale and uncordial relationships among staff and other attendant effects".
"Frequent breakdown in health of the workers; there has been at least one incidence of a young doctor collapsing from extreme work".
Thank God, she was resuscitated successfully.
Risk of avoidable errors in the discharge of our duties, leading to poor or improper care of our patients and litigation for the involved doctors and other healthcare workers.
"This cannot be overemphasized
Inability to study properly for postgraduate exams and lack of time for adequate training of younger doctors and medical students because all the time available is left to just survive the hectic working conditions.
We have engaged the hospital management on many occasions without clear reprieve, since it appears to be beyond their reach.
We have also met on several occasions with the representatives of the state government both in the previous and current administrations.
The inertia is really disturbing".
"We sincerely want to take care of our patients; we don’t want poor outcomes. But this is already happening when the doctors are working under hectic conditions and the health of the caregivers is also seriously endangered. We have been forced to resort to this measure, after many notices and warnings that we cannot go on like this, in the hope that the government will wake up to the real issues".
"Our fundamental plea to the state government is that it is of emergent need to immediately the many resident doctors who have exited the system over the past few years. And we wonder why there is such unresponsiveness, when we hear again and again that the salary subvention remains unchanged".
"We are aware that his excellency set up an administrative panel to look into the matters of the Teaching Hospital, which we hope they are working on as expected, but it appears their focus is on long term infrastructure, with no clear regard for the present discharge of health care to the citizens of Ogun State, OOUTH being the only state-owned tertiary institution in the State."
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