Intern doctors on housemanship and nurses have swung into action to treat patients at Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Asaba, Delta State as National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) embarked on indefinite strike.
Our correspondent reports that the doctors of the Federal Medical Centre, Asaba, have been used to regular strike, the number of which cannot be estimated in a year, a development which has left many patients stranded in the hospital, while the unlucky ones die.
The interns have taken over the jobs of the doctors so as to save the situation as scores of patients trooped into the hospital for medication thus filled in the gaps that would have been created by the absence of resident doctors.
The hospital is very prone to strike; hence, there was initial apprehension among patients when NARD announced an indefinite strike by resident doctors at the early hours of last Monday.
On the visit to monitor the situation, normal activities were going on as patients were still being taken on admission.
One of the nurses who spoke under anonymous condition said the strike by a section of health workers cannot paralyze activities at the hospital.
“Patients are being attended to those to be admitted are taken on admission. The consultants who are actually the owners of the patients are not on strike. Other health workers are also not on strike, so we will do our best to fill the vacuum created by the absence of resident doctors,” she said.
However, the institution’s branch of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) complied with the stay at home directive of the union’s national body.
Chairman of NARD at Asaba FMC, Dr. Nosa Uwugiaren, who spoke on phone said his members fully complied with the order to embark on industrial action.
Uwugiaren said resident doctors at the institution will not resume work until there is a contrary order to the strike action from the national executive of NARD.
In his response, the Medical Director of the tertiary health institution, Dr. Victor Osiatumah, said normal work in the hospital was going on, disclosing that Consultants were also on ground.

Albert Ograka, Asaba