The chairman, Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) Rivers State, Dr. Ibitrokoemi Korubo, says doctors are allowed to attend to critically ill patients in different hospitals and in areas where bomb blast occurred despite the ongoing strike of the association.
He stated that doctors had been mobilised to attend to the victims in those areas and were also advised not to accept patients who are not in critical states for their own interest. He said that the aim was to avoid distrust of the doctors, further stating that the ongoing nationwide doctor’s strike is a recommencement of the warning strike which was held in November 2013.
He said that in the last 22 years, the association had been trying to talk to the Federal Government on their expectations in terms of challenges and welfare.
He further explain that the strike was a difficult decision the association had to take, stressing that the association is still in talks with the government.
Speaking as a guest on Channels Television’s breakfast programme, Sunrise Daily, Dr. Korubo further explained that during an initial warning strike in November 2013, the association divided their demands into two parts. “The first part is infrastructure demands and the second part is improving allocation to health workers,” the doctor said.
He said that the government was focusing on implementation of other things that were not as necessary as our demand.
“Hospitals are not designed for politics but to deliver healthcare to the patients,” he stressed.
Commenting further on the reason for the strike, he insisted that part of the reasons for the strike was the lingering issues in the health system which had also involved the government and further called on the government for a prompt solution.
