Patients at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital have expressed happiness with the suspension of the 61-day long strike embarked upon by Resident Doctors across the country.
Some of the patients narrated their ordeal during the strike days, saying that it was tough as limited consultants were handling patients.
Mr Usman Abubakar, a patient who suffers from kidney failure, said staying in a long queue during clinical days, was traumatic.
He said despite the efforts of the Consultants who tried to fill the vacuum, the prolonged strike made it difficult for them.
Another patient who suffers from sickle cell ailment, Miss Umma Habib, said the strike created an unforgettable hardship for people like her, who had to attend routine clinics.
“We had terrible congestion due to limited Doctors, and also, we encountered difficulty at the laboratories too.”
“All processes were slow and annoying due to the large number of patients waiting to be attended,” she said.
Habib, therefore, appealed to the association to always have patients in mind whenever contemplating to embark on strike actions.
She also appealed to the government to find a means of resolving issues to avert industrial actions, which always left a terrible mark in its aftermath.
A staff of the hospital who pleaded anonymity also expressed happiness over the suspension of the strike saying that the hospital had lost a lot.
“Many patients who didn’t want to join long queues at the hospital went outside the hospital to conduct medical examinations requested by the hospital.
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“So the strike had affected the economy of the hospital economy in many ways, but we hope that things will be better soon, “ he said.
The National Association of Resident Doctors embarked on strike on August 2, 2021.
The Association, in an emergency meeting, announced the suspension of the strike on Monday, Oct 4, 2021, saying that they would resume work on Wednesday, October 6, 2021.
The Association claimed that the strike action was necessary to make the Federal Government address some pending issues , amongst which was irregular payments of salaries.
