Senior
doctors on Level 14 and above working for the Lagos State government
now attend to pregnant women booked for Caesarean sections at the
state’s general hospitals, THE PUNCH’s investigation has revealed.
Activities at the state
public hospitals have been disrupted following the strike action
embarked upon by members of the state chapter of the Nigerian Medical
Association.
The doctors commenced an
indefinite strike last month following government’s attempt to punish
some of their members that earlier participated in a three-day warning
strike.
Checks by our
correspondent showed that since the strike began on April 25, patients
had been turned back from the state public hospitals in spite of
government’s assurance that patients would get adequate attention in its
hospitals. All the Accident and Emergency Units in the state hospitals
have also been shut down. Pregnant women using public hospitals were
mostly hit as some of them had either attained their Expected Delivery
Dates or were booked for surgery due to one reason or the other.
A source in one of the
general hospitals in the state said senior doctors on Level 14 and above
had been drafted to attend to any pregnant woman previously booked for
Caesarean sections in any of the public hospitals.
The source, who pleaded
anonymity, because he was not authorised to speak with the media, said
the civil service rules exempt any employee on Level 14 and above from
taking part in any strike action.
He said the senior
doctors had to be drafted in to attend only to pregnant women booked for
surgery in any of the public hospitals before the doctors went on
strike. The source said the measure was meant to reduce the impact of
the strike and control maternal and foetal mortality.
Advising women
previously booked for Caesarean sections to visit their hospitals, he
said the senior doctors would be on hand to attend to them. He however
added that the hospitals would only take booked cases and would not
accept new patients.
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