Doctors at Uyo Teaching Hospital in Nigeria call off strike after apology
Doctors at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, have called off a strike they declared over an alleged assault on a medical worker. Medical services at the facility are expected to resume from 08:00 on September 5.
As Premium Times Nigeria reports, the decision was made after a meeting of the executive council of the Akwa Ibom State branch of the Nigerian Medical Association. Branch chair Tiyema Akpabio said the family of the woman accused of assaulting a doctor had apologized, while the hospital administration intervened to settle the dispute.
Apology for the incident
In a letter dated September 2 and addressed to the president of the hospital's Association of Resident Doctors, Susana Adie apologized for her conduct during a visit to the diabetic ward on September 1. She said she regretted her actions, admitted to assaulting doctor Edidiong Ubia while trying to clarify the treatment prescribed to her, and withdrew the insulting words she used during the incident.
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Adie asked the resident doctors to accept her apology in order to avoid further tension between her and the medical community. Earlier, the Association of Resident Doctors declared an indefinite strike over the alleged assault.
Measures to protect staff
According to Tiyema Akpabio, the hospital administration promised to review assault cases and establish a committee that would propose ways to strengthen staff protection. Earlier, the medical association had demanded that the administration and security agencies identify those involved in the incident and hold them accountable within 48 hours, as well as strengthen security at medical institutions.
This is the second doctors' strike at the hospital in the past four months. In May, doctors in Akwa Ibom went on strike after an operation by officers of Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission at the hospital, during which a senior official of the facility was detained. After the commission apologized, the medical association suspended the strike at that time.
