NMA declares indefinite strike in three government hospitals over doctor's death

In response to the passing of their colleague, Dr. Vwaere Diaso, all three of the government hospitals on Lagos Island are to go on an indefinite strike, according to the Lagos State chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association.

In honour of the deceased colleague, the NMA also ordered a five-day period of mourning throughout the state and requested that physicians at the other government-owned hospitals reduce their workloads.

The General Hospital in Odan, Lagos; the Lagos Island Maternity Hospital; and the Massey Street Children's Hospital in Lagos are the hospitals that would go on an indefinite strike.

According to the organisation, Diaso passed away on Tuesday at the General Hospital in Odan, Lagos. She had been locked in the lift for about 40 minutes when help arrived, and there was not enough blood on hand to revive her.

This was disclosed by the NMA on Wednesday in a press release that was signed by Ismail Ajibowo, the secretary, and state chairman, Dr. Benjamin Olowojebutu.

“The NMA Lagos State received with rude shock the death of one of our members, Dr Vwaere Diaso, a medical house officer, whose death occurred as a result of injuries sustained when the elevator she was in crashed. This is heartbreaking, heart-wrenching, and quite unfortunate. We commiserate with her immediate family, her colleagues on the Island, the Medical Guild, and all body of doctors in Lagos State. The information we got was that she was trapped in the elevator for more than 40 minutes before she was rescued.

“We were also reliably informed that there was no blood available for resuscitation, and this has become a recurring issue as a result of the review made by the government on the previous policy on blood donation.

“To us, this was an avoidable death and it’s unfortunate that it was allowed to happen. We are pained and we are mourning. We are well aware that this same elevator has been a source of problem for many years during which several complaints have been made to all relevant agencies with no respite, the statement read in part.

But the group insisted on a prompt, impartial examination into the incident's circumstances.

“We declare a five-day statewide mourning period; we demand an immediate, unbiased investigation into the circumstances surrounding this unfortunate incident; all those found culpable in this matter, especially the General Manager of the Lagos State Infrastructure Management Agency, Ms Adenike Adekambi, are all brought to justice.

“We direct all our doctors in the three government hospitals on the Island (GH Lagos, LIMH, and MSCH) to commence indefinite strike action until the investigations are completed and justice served; we immediately direct our doctors in all the other government hospitals to scale down activities as a mark of respect for our dead colleague. Only emergency services should be rendered for the next five days.

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