REPORT: Patients groan as Kwara doctors’ strike disrupts hospital services
By Mosunmola Ayobami, Ilorin
Patients at the Kwara State University Teaching Hospital (KWASUTH) are struggling to access medical care following a seven-day warning strike by doctors in the state over a two per cent salary deduction for the Kwara Health Insurance Scheme (KHIS) and other welfare concerns.
A visit to the hospital by Western Post revealed a disruption of routine clinical activities, with patients and their relatives complaining about delays in treatment and relying on student nurses and other available health workers for attention.
The doctors reportedly embarked on the industrial action on Wednesday after their ultimatum to the relevant authorities over the disputed deductions and welfare issues was not satisfactorily addressed.
One of the patients, 65-year-old Lanrewaju Omotosho, said student nurses had been attending to him since he was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday.
Similarly, a trader whose relative was receiving treatment at the hospital, but who requested anonymity, said nurses were attending to patients and alleged that the hospital had stopped admitting new patients since the strike began.
She appealed to the state government and other relevant authorities to address the doctors’ demands, lamenting that the country’s economic hardship had made it difficult for families to afford treatment at private hospitals.
Recounting her family’s experience before the strike, the trader said her brother had waited almost six hours to see a doctor and alleged that only one doctor attended to patients in the emergency ward and other wards.
While commending the doctor for attending to several patients, she claimed that another patient collapsed and died that same day because no doctor was available to attend to him, although Western Post could not independently verify the circumstances surrounding the reported death.
The trader’s brother, who is responding to treatment, said he collapsed twice before a bed space was eventually found for him, raising further concerns about the challenges patients face while seeking admission.
Beyond the strike, the trader complained about the condition of some hospital facilities, saying many plastic chairs provided for caregivers lacked armrests and adequate support, prompting her to bring a chair from home.
She also complained about unpleasant odours from the toilets, which she attributed to a lack of water for flushing, although she acknowledged that cleaners were making efforts to maintain the facilities.
Another relative, Shittu Omoboja, whose elder sister is receiving treatment at the hospital, said student nurses had been attending to patients since the doctors began their strike on Wednesday and appealed to the authorities to resolve the dispute.
The accounts gathered highlight the difficulties patients and their relatives say they are facing amid the industrial action. Efforts to obtain a response from the Kwara State Government were unsuccessful as of press time.
