OYO, Nigeria – The Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Teaching Hospital, LAUTECH, faces a crisis as doctors begin an industrial action on Monday, May 8, 2023, over poor conditions of service and unpaid salaries.
The hospital’s chapter of the Medical and Dental Association of Nigeria, MDCAN, called the strike, with its Chairman, Dr. Ayobami Alabi, and Secretary, Dr. Taiwo Alatishe, announcing the decision in a statement.
Alabi explained that the action was based on a congress resolution reached following the expiration of an earlier ultimatum. “We have critically observed the situation in the hospital, and there is no definite assurance that the issues in contention will soon be resolved, either partly or wholly,” he said.
The MDCAN stated that it had made efforts in the past to safeguard the hospital from total collapse and reposition it for better training, research, and services for which it was established. However, it decried the continued non-payment of salaries for recently employed members, the difficulty in payment of 2016-2017 salary arrears, and the shortage of manpower across different cadres of doctors.
“The prescribed ratio of doctors expected to function in a tertiary hospital is already distorted and highly eroded by this shortfall, undermining quality training and service,” the association warned in its statement.
It also highlighted the hospital’s inability to expand the scope of training and services due to inadequate funds and the lack of basic facilities like offices for consultants. The statement read, “The decadence in infrastructure, equipment, and facilities is making the hospital operate below the optimal standard expected of a teaching hospital.”
The MDCAN slammed the hospital board’s failure to respond appropriately and satisfactorily to these challenges despite numerous engagements and appeals. “This treatment is anti-labor. It is also considered inhumane, with the attending psychological and emotional trauma,” the statement stressed.
The association called on the public, traditional rulers, critical stakeholders, and the Oyo State government to rescue the teaching hospital and reposition it for better output. “The withdrawal of service is done to safeguard the hospital from total collapse and to reposition it for better training, research, and services for which it was established,” Dr. Alatishe added.
