From Olanrewaju Lawal, Birnin Kebbi
The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has fully resumed at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Birnin Kebbi.
Speaking to reporters NARD Vice President Dr Opeyemi Ojomu, who confirmed the doctors’ resumption, explained that patients have started coming and they expected overwhelming patients before weekend.
As you can see by yourself, while you are walking in into hospital, patients have started coming to the hospital.
‘We have resumed work and fully as I just attended to few patients now before you were allowed to see me.
‘This is the first day and the awareness will be relatively poor. So, today, many patients might not come, especially those in the remote areas.
‘From tomorrow, the load of work will be overwhelming.
‘Those in the remote areas might have gotten the information and embarked on journey to this hospital earlier. So, during the week down to the weekend,we are expecting a lot of patients, massive turn out and we are ready for them,’he said.
Ojomu explained that the government had started meeting up few of the Association’s demands, such as recapturing of their members removed from the scheme of services and those not captured in the Integrated Payroll Personal Information System (IPPIS).
‘Few of our demands have been met, to be fair, because we cannot be telling you that they have not done anything,’ he explained.
‘They have started paying house officers removed from the scheme of service… and we are having good messages about that.
‘Some of our members not captured in the IPPIS have commenced recapturing them. So, there are other challenges like death benefits for our members and our salaries that have not been paid.
‘So, since they have started fulfilling some of our demands, we are hopeful that they will touch other aspects too,’ he said.
A patient at the hospital, Junaidu Abdullahi Tukur, expressed happiness at the doctors resumption, saying that he had gone to several private hospital but was not satisfied with their services.
‘Health now is gold and very hard to find. I had gone to several private hospital when doctors went on strike but was not satisfied with their medical procedures and attendance.
‘I trust my doctor so much so that I am satisfied with every detail he revealed to me of my medical condition.
‘I am happy to be here to see him,’ the elated patient said of his doctor.
Another patient, Malam Hussaini Maishago-Matankari, expressed satisfaction that medical services had resumed, explaining that he was in the hospital with his wife to see her doctor.
‘ am telling you last week when I brought her to the hospital even her medical file we could not see as medical personnel were unwilling to attend to patients, even on emergency condition.
‘I am happy that my wife would be attended to as we had seen her file and the doctor had attended to her and asked that we should go and ultra-scanning, which we did and brought to him now for further medical procedures,’ he explained.
A food vendor who operates adjacent to the FMC main entrance, Mrs Yakubu Obiageri, described the doctors’ resumption as a boom to petty businesses in the area.
‘We thank God now they are back and resumed as you can see, though many people are not aware of the resumption; but the flow of people have changed and our business in turn has changed to the basic of law of demand,’ she said.
Hajiya Maryam Bunza, local seller of bean cake (“Akara”), thanked the Federal Government for resolving the impasse with the doctors.
‘Alhamdulillahi, we are happy today as we have witnessed a boom to our business, and I believe tomorrow may even be much better than today as people, on hearing the resumption, will be coming even from the remotes areas of the state,’ she expressed.