Resident doctors protest repeated assaults in Ondo hospital

Doctors at the Federal Medical Centre Owo, Ondo State, on Monday staged a protest against the assault on one of their colleagues by relatives of a patient at the hospital.

The protesters, under the auspices of the Association of Resident Doctors, FMC Owo branch, alleged that it had become a recurring occurrence in the hospital for doctors and other health workers to be assaulted without adequate sanctions.

Chanting solidarity songs within the hospital premises, the protesters carried placards with inscriptions such as: “Say no to violence against healthcare workers” and “The hands that heal should not bleed.”

Speaking during the protest, the Chairman of FMC Owo ARD, Dr. Oluwadamilola Adeola, said the peaceful walk was to sensitise the hospital community on the recurring assaults against health workers.

“It has been recurring. This year alone, we have had about three or four cases. Some are even unreported. We are standing to sensitise our people that enough is enough to assault health workers.

“The hand they use should not bleed. The aim of this demonstration is to demand arrest and prosecution of perpetrators, and we want this done in earnest because our members are not satisfied with the slow pace of justice.

“We also want armed security personnel at our gates so that our people will feel secure to work. We are also demanding a public apology from the perpetrators so that it will serve as a deterrent,” he said.

The ARD chairman said if the demands were met, the ongoing industrial action at the Akure annex of the hospital would be suspended.

“Currently, we are on strike at our Akure annex because our people there do not feel safe. We do not have armed security personnel there and the gate is porous. We want the management to address this urgently.

“We have a pending case earlier in the year where a health worker was assaulted and hospitalised. Nothing has been done. The person involved even threatened to return and kidnap and kill a doctor. We cannot wait until a doctor is killed,” he said.

He added that if the demands were not met, the association could not guarantee industrial harmony.

Also speaking, a Senior Registrar in the Department of Family Medicine, Dr. Dotun Odumade, said the protest was to raise awareness and reinforce opposition to violence against health workers.

“We want increased awareness within the hospital and community that the hospital is a place of serenity. There is no room for jungle justice. If patients or relatives are not satisfied with care, there are proper channels for complaints and redress.

“We also want hospital management to ensure armed security personnel are deployed to maintain order. If the hospital space is not made safe, we cannot assure continued services,” he said.