A fresh assault on a doctor has triggered another indefinite strike at UUTH, months after a similar crisis disrupted services and exposed persistent concerns over the safety of healthcare workers.
The Association of Resident Doctors at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH) has declared an indefinite strike over the alleged assault of a house officer by an elderly woman at the hospital.
The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Akwa Ibom State branch, announced the industrial action in a statement issued on its Facebook page on Wednesday after an emergency general meeting of the resident doctors.
The association condemned the assault as “barbaric” and unacceptable, saying healthcare workers must be able to perform their duties in an environment free from intimidation and violence.
It gave the hospital management and relevant security agencies 48 hours to identify and prosecute those responsible for the assault.
“The NMA-AKS hereby demands that relevant security agencies and the management of UUTH within 48 hours of this release, identify, apprehend, and bring the perpetrators of this assault to book,” the association said.
It also demanded the immediate strengthening of security measures across health facilities in the state to protect healthcare workers, patients and hospital property.
The latest strike comes only months after another industrial action at UUTH was triggered by an alleged assault on medical personnel.
In May, PREMIUM TIMES reported that doctors in Akwa Ibom embarked on an indefinite strike following a controversial operation by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) officials at the teaching hospital.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that the 12 May operation triggered panic at the hospital, disrupted clinical services and forced workers and patients to flee after witnesses alleged that EFCC operatives fired tear gas during the operation.
The incident centred on the arrest of Eyo Ekpe, a professor and deputy chairman of the hospital’s Medical Advisory Committee.
The hospital’s Chief Medical Director (CMD), Emem Bassey, later said staff members were brutalised during the operation and that five workers, including Mr Ekpe, were arrested before they were released.
The EFCC initially denied allegations that its operatives assaulted or arrested hospital staff but ordered an internal investigation into the incident.
The dispute eventually led the EFCC Chairperson, Ola Olukoyede, to apologise to Mr Ekpe and members of the NMA and order a full investigation. The NMA subsequently suspended the strike.
The recurrence of a strike over alleged violence against health workers at the same hospital raises fresh concerns about the safety of medical personnel and the ability of UUTH to maintain uninterrupted clinical services.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that the federal government had, in August, ordered measures to strengthen the protection of health workers nationwide following the submission of a report by a ministerial committee set up after the UUTH incident.
The committee found that the Uyo incident was not isolated, identifying 18 cases of assault, intimidation or harassment across federal tertiary health institutions in the preceding 12 months.
Mr Bassey, the UUTH chief medical director, confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES that the resident doctors had commenced the strike but appealed to them to reconsider the action.
“We are doing our best. Resident doctors did commence the strike action yesterday. We are doing our best to assuage the situation,” he said on Thursday morning.
Mr Bassey described the latest incident as “unfortunate”, saying it involved an elderly woman who allegedly assaulted a house officer.
“It was an unfortunate situation involving an old woman molesting a house officer. That is what health workers face all the time and people don’t know,” he said.
He condemned the assault, stressing that no patient or relative has the right to physically attack a healthcare worker.
“Nobody has the right to lay hands on any health worker. There is even a national policy on this now,” he said.
According to him, the hospital management had been engaging the resident doctors to resolve the dispute.
He said he was informed that the patient and the elderly woman involved in the incident returned to the hospital and tendered an unreserved apology.
“I am told the patients and the old woman came in yesterday and tendered unreserved apology. We are hoping that the resident doctors will accept that and move on,” he said.
Mr Bassey questioned the benefit of having the elderly woman arrested, while acknowledging that her alleged action was wrong.
“An old woman did this. What will we gain if we get an old woman arrested? Yes, she erred. But what will anyone gain?” he asked.
He said he hoped the resident doctors would accept the apology and return to work.
On measures to prevent further assaults, the CMD said UUTH had always maintained security arrangements but acknowledged that it would be difficult to provide security personnel in every unit around the clock.
