Medical association calls for stronger security for doctors in Akwa Ibom State
The Nigerian Medical Association in Akwa Ibom State has urged the state authorities to urgently strengthen security and improve the welfare of doctors and other healthcare workers. The appeal followed two incidents at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital that led to medical workers' strikes over four months.
As Premium Times Nigeria reports, the decision was made following a meeting of the association's Uyo branch executive committee held on September 5–7. Branch chairperson Tiema Akpabio said cases of attacks and violence against healthcare workers are unacceptable and pose a direct threat to the provision of medical care.
Strike after alleged attack
On September 3, the resident doctors' association at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital began an indefinite strike after an elderly woman allegedly attacked a doctor. Two days later, the protest was suspended following an apology from the woman's family and intervention by the hospital administration.
According to Akpabio, the administration also agreed to establish a committee to propose measures to protect healthcare workers. The medical association demanded that those involved in the incident be identified and held accountable, and that security at medical facilities across the state be strengthened.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Second incident in four months
In May, doctors in Akwa Ibom had already declared an indefinite strike following an operation by officers of Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission at the hospital. Medical workers then reported attacks and intimidation of staff. The strike ended after a public apology from the commission's chairman, Ola Olukoyede.
The hospital's chief medical director, Emem Bassey, warned during the May strike that seriously ill patients, pregnant women, and people requiring dialysis were severely affected by disruptions to the facility's operations. Following that incident, Nigeria's federal government ordered measures to protect medical workers: a committee identified 18 cases of attacks, intimidation, or harassment at federal tertiary healthcare facilities over the previous 12 months.
The association welcomed a state government-proposed bill criminalizing attacks on healthcare workers, but stressed the need for its prompt adoption and enforcement.
