Patients At Federal Teaching Hospital Groans Over Health Workers Strike 

By Emmanuel Adeoye

Patients receiving treatment at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido-Ekiti, FETHI, are currently groaning as a result of the strike embarked upon by the Health Workers in the hospital under the umbrella body of Joint Health Workers Union, JHWU.

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During a visit to the hospital in Ido-Ekiti, people were seen moving out their sick relatives out of the facility.

Though medical doctors and nurses were available, it was difficult attending to patients because the health workers in strike are those in charge of records of patients, laboratories and other medical functions needed by doctors to properly diagnose and prescribe treatments.

Speaking with newsmen, Imam Abdulazeez Momu who brought his son for treatment from, Ikare in Ondo State expressed disappointment as his son who was writhing in pain could not get the medical attention he came for.

Imam Momu therefore appealed to the concerned authorities to attend to the needs of the striking workers, as patients were at the receiving end of their action.

In an interview, the Chairman, Joint Health Workers Union of Nigeria, JHWU, Ekiti State Chapter, Mr Femi Ajoloko who had visited the hospital to ensure compliance said “the strike was a directive from the national body of the Union”.

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According to Mr. Ajoloko, the strike was as a result of the failure of federal government to fulfill the adjustment of the salary structure of their members working in federal Teaching Hospitals.

The Chairman however vowed that the strike would not be called off, if the Federal government failed to accede to their demands, with a threat that those in State Hospitals would soon join the strike.

JOHESU is the umbrella body of health workers’ unions and associations, including the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria, Nigeria Union of Allied Health Professionals, Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions, and Senior Staff Association of Universities’ Teaching Hospitals Research Institutes and Associated Institutions.

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The leadership of JOHESU had in a letter dated May 9, 2023, issued a 15-day ultimatum to the Federal Government over alleged inconsistencies of the government in the ongoing negotiations to adjust the Consolidated Health Salary Structure for health workers on their platforms.

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