Unical Teaching Hospital Doctors Protest Death of Colleague

by crossriverwatch admin

Activities at the University of Calabar Teaching Houspital Calabar UCTH were on Thursday brought to a halt as doctors on housemanship launched a protest following the death of their colleague who was involved in a ghastly motor accident and allowed to die because of strike by hospital workers which shut down the drug store and rooms where medical equipment are kept.

The house officers who were visibly angry that the nurses at the UCTH locked up many offices and stores in the hospital including medical equipment that ought to have been used to resuscitate their member, popularly called” Dr Pee”. “We could not have access to the required medical accessories for the immediate treatment and revival of our colleague involved in an accident; the casualty ward where we took him to the nurses had gone away with the keys”. Dr Etuk who led the protest said.

Dr Abang, one of the consultants however succeeded in dissuading them from embarking on their violent protest to the office of the Chief Medical Director, Dr Thomas Agan, maintaining that doing so would be counterproductive if they did not put everything into consideration in view of the hospital’s policies.

He took time to enlighten the officers on the principles and position of the hospital, warning that they should be cautious in their approach to the issue. Abang urged the protesting doctors to: “First, you should find out if your colleague had permission to travel at that time. You should also bear in mind that the nurses being aware of the hospital’s policies could not have locked and gone home with the keys. This means that you all should have checked at the security post to pick the keys to access which drugs and accessories you required. Did you call on a superior doctor?”, Abang querried.

Abang also cautioned them to realise that perhaps their colleague’s case as at when he was brought was already beyond critical revival point. Warned them not to engage in “school boys” style of unionism that is not well purposed.