Our Reporters Patients seeking treatment at public hospitals across the country are having a tough time accessing care as the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors, on Monday, commenced a seven-day warning strike. The doctors embarked on the strike to push for the rescue of a Kaduna-based doctor, Dr Ganiyat Popoola, who was kidnapped last December and has spent about eight months in the abductors’ den. The strike, which held across the country, left patients stranded and the doctors shunned work.
The Minister of State for Health, Dr Tunji Alausa, on Monday, held a meeting with the leadership of NARD over the situation. The President of NARD, Dr Dele Abdullahi, disclosed this in a telephone interview with The PUNCH. Abdullahi said, “We met with the minister and he said he would write the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu regarding the issue and get back to us.
” The abducted Dr Popoola works at the National Eye Hospital, Kaduna. NARD commenced the seven-day warning strike on Monday, calling for her rescue. Their demand comes after several official letters of request for intervention written to all major stakeholders, including security agencies; peaceful protests, and a two-week deadline for the release of their abducted colleague which had already elapsed.
Patients groan Meanwhile, patients in Abuja hospitals faced significant delays in accessing healthcare services as the strike progressed. Routine procedures and consultations were delayed, leading to considerab.