My Son Died Due To Doctors’ Strike, Says CNPP Scribe

The National Publicity Secretary of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP), Mr. Osita Okechukwu has bemoaned the continued face-off between striking medical doctors and the Federal Government.
The Doctor’s industrial action which centres mainly on demands for improved welfare packages in the health sector has gone on for many weeks now without any end in sight.
However Okechukwu, who is still in a painful mood after failing to get adequate medical attention to save his undergraduate son from dying last weekend, has urged the federal, state government and the Nigeria Medical Association to do all within their powers to resolve forthwith the impasse.
According to Okechukwu who is also a chieftain of the All progressives Congress (APC) the lingering strike by the doctors contributed immensely to the death of his son, Matthias Koso Okechukwu.
Matthias, a third year Law student at Baze University Abuja took ill and was rushed to a private hospital in Abuja but unfortunately his situation became critical and needed specialist attention at the National Hospital which could not be readily available.
While recounting how his son might had been saved, Okechukwu lamented in a statement that “if their was no Doctors’ strike, perhaps his son would have made it.
Matthias actually suffers from Muscular Dystrophy and developed crisis on Saturday 9th August and was quickly rushed to a private clinic at Garki and the doctor on duty referred us to National Hospital Abuja, saying that the machine capable of restoring his normal breathing can only be found at the National Hospital.
“On getting to the National Hospital, the only doctor found on duty battled to save Matthias but couldn’t as she couldn’t reach the equipment in the Pediatric Department to resuscitate Matthias. So had it not been for the strike adequate attention could have been paid to him, ” he said.
He appealed to both federal government and the NMA to urgently resolve the issues at stake and to get the hospitals working again in order to save lives.
” I therefore passionately plead that the government and the doctors should in the interest of Nigerians quickly resolve the impasse, ” he added.