Resident doctors at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, have blamed the management of the premier tertiary health institution for alleged inhumane treatment.
They have declared a three-day warning strike starting today.
The doctors’ decision followed a virtual Emergency General Meeting (EGM) of the university’s chapter of the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), which deliberated on a nine-month electricity blackout at the College of Medicine’s residential axis.
The ARD chapter, led by Dr. Uthman Adedeji, alleged that healthcare workers in the zone have been subjected to severe hardship due to prolonged epileptic power supply.
The union said the trouble started in January when a circuit breaker supplying the hospital’s complex developed a fault. To keep the main hospital running, the management allegedly sacrificed the College of Medicine area, leaving doctors and their families in darkness.
Although a new breaker was installed following sustained advocacy and an ultimatum issued during an August general meeting, the relief was short-lived.
The association lamented that inter-institutional bottlenecks between the College of Medicine of the University of Ibadan (UI) and its landlord, the UCH management, have turned residents into victims of institutional friction.
“Indeed, as the popular saying goes, when two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers,” the communiqué stated.
The persistent blackout has similarly triggered a chronic water shortage, forcing doctors to trek long distances, patronise private business centres, and spend out-of-pocket to transport water for basic survival.
Aside from the immediate three-day warning strike beginning today at 8 a.m., the congress also issued a seven-day ultimatum starting from today until October 19.
The union warned that its members would reconvene to consider an indefinite strike if their grievances are ignored.
The doctors are demanding the immediate restoration of power, urgent repair of faulty circuit breakers to serve as backups, and a guarantee that residential power outages will not exceed five days.
Source: The Nation
