AKTH Rejects Patients As Strike Cripples Medical Services

The industrial action by the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has crippled medical services at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano (AKTH), leading to the rejection of patients.

About 350 resident doctors (70 per cent) at AKTH joined their counterparts nationwide to demand payment of their outstanding allowances among other issues with the government.

Except emergency and life-threatening situations, patients seeking medical attention at AKTH may be disappointed, as clinical services have reduced due to the strike.

Already, the hospital has stopped accepting new patients on admission while those considered relatively stable on admission are being discharged because of absence of doctors.

President of NARD at AKTH, Dr. Abubakar Usman, expressed worry that the government would force doctors to embark on needless industrial disharmony at the detriment of patients.

Part of the doctor’s demands, according to Usman include life insurance, budget for medical doctors residency training, and six months hazard allowance for COVID-19.

Spokesperson of the facility, Hauwa Abdullahi, confirmed that the strike scaled-down medical services, maintaining that contingency arrangements were being put in place for skeletal services.

BUT the Association of Resident Doctors in the Federal Capital Territory Administration (ARD FCTA) has suspended its strike following the payment of COVID-19 hazard and inducement allowance to its members.

The association had on Tuesday, September 1, 2020, embarked on indefinite strike over the non-payment of the allowance and the non-implementation of variation for members who were successful in the 2018 promotion exercise.

In a communiqué after an Emergency General Meeting (EGM) to appraise the situation, ARD President, Dr. Roland Aigbovo, noted that the association regretted using strike to negotiate members’ entitlements despite efforts to dialogue and resolve the issues amicably.

Aigbovo demanded that the variation of some ARD members not implemented be done before the payment of September 2020 salaries, while the continuous salary irregularities/inconsistencies occasioned by the migration to the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) be resolved.

According to him, the meeting also resolved that pensions, National Housing Fund (NHF), cooperative deduction and association dues be remitted to the beneficiaries as soon as possible, as the delay in remittance had led to loss of accrued interest on the sum.