The management of the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital has disclosed that the indefinite strike action embarked on by the National Association of Resident Doctors won’t affect continued service delivery.
The Chairman of the Medical Advisory Committee, Prof. Datonye Alasia, gave the assurance while speaking with journalists on Thursday.
Alasia explained that the medical institution had not received any official notice of the strike action, but it has rolled out a contingency plan to address whatever pressure the absence of the doctors would put on the hospital.
He said, “We just received that notice, even though we have not had official communication, but it was from the media that we heard the notice of the strike action.
“Disruption of services by unions is not new. As a hospital, we have a policy and a contingency plan to deal with those situations, irrespective of the group of workers, doctors, nurses, and paramedics.”
Prof. Alaska stated that although the strike action will impact service delivery, it may not be at its optimum because of the contingencies that will fill the gaps.
“Whenever such an event takes place, we activate those protocols, and they are already in place to make up for whatever gaps there may be in service.
“And as the situation unfolds, we will also review the situation and implement the appropriate response. But the facility is open, and patients are still getting the care they need while we see how it goes,” he said.
When asked if patients would not be discharged and clinics would not be closed in the coming days, the Chairman of the Medical Advisory Committee responded, “Those are things embedded in the response plan. The plan will consider patients’ safety, quality of care, and the resources available to provide the care. So as we go on, we will decide which aspects of the plans we will be implementing. But we have not reached that stage. It is still early,” he said.
The hospital’s chapter of NARD has, however, declared an indefinite strike, effective Wednesday.
The General Secretary, Dr. Raymond Stanley, disclosed that the decision was taken at the NARD NEC meeting.
