6th March, 2016
Jethro Ibileke/Benin
The University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), became a theatre of war at the weekend when members of the Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria, (UBTH branch), engaged management staff of the hospital in a free for all.
The laboratory scientists who are currently on strike, allegedly were at the hospital to disrupt the duties of ad hoc medical laboratory scientists reportedly engaged from a private medical laboratory outfit (Union Diagnostics), by the hospital management, a development described by the association as “unacceptable.”
In the process of resisting the move by management of the hospital to open the laboratories and as well as offices in the medical laboratory department, the laboratory scientists staged a peaceful protest which lasted several hours.
The protest, however, led to the shutting down of the Accident and Emergency Unit of the hospital where the laboratory department is located and also crippled all medical services at the health institution.
The situation, however, went out of hand when a senior management staff simply identified as Dr. Obaseki, who was trying to broker peace, was allegedly assaulted by the angry medical laboratory scientists.
This allegedly degenerated to a free for all between the laboratory scientists and the senior management staff, left other members of staff and vulnerable patients in the hospital to scamper for safety as the aggrieved scientists became aggressive.
A combined team of men of the Nigeria Police and operatives of Nigeria Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), later brought the situation under control.
Commenting on the incident, the chairman of the medical laboratory scientists in UBTH, Olumoye Abdulazeez, said the Prof. Michael Ibadin-led management of the hospital, blatantly paid deaf ears to their grievances, which include under staffing, abuse of court orders, shortage of manpower, insufficient working materials and harsh working conditions, which he said was responsible for their action.
“While we are aware of the huge cost being charged by UBTH as the highest payable in the country for laboratory analysis, we are equally baffled by the way and manner the authority has deliberately decided to make life and the working conditions of AMLSN and its members unbearable since management has declined to pay our arrears, promote and re-grade our members,” he said.
Abdulazeez, who said the burden of patients is aggravated by poor functional equipment and inadequate chemicals for laboratory analysis, warned the general public to be wary of where they carry out their medical analyses, stating that “the authenticity of result of any laboratory investigation not done by us while the strike lasts cannot be guaranteed.”
Meanwhile, effort to reach the management of the hospital to comment on the development proved abortive as calls put through to the Chief Medical Director (CMD),Prof. Michael Ibadin, did not go through.
The Deputy Chairman of Medical Advisory Committee, Clinical Services, Prof. Clement Osime, at an earlier interview, wondered why the Olumoye Abdulazeez-led association embarked on the strike.
Prof. Osime, who disclosed that about 80 percent of the demands of the striking laboratory scientists have been resolved by the hospital management, said the hospital was working out modalities to resolve the crisis.
UBTH, the only tertiary health institution available to patients in Edo, Ondo and Delta states, has been bedeviled by one strike after another.
Members of the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), of the hospital only recently suspended their strike after several weeks of downing tools.