By Aderogba George
The Association of Residents Doctors (ARD) and the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), FCT Administration Chapters, have expressed concern over incessant assault of health workers in hospitals in Abuja.
The President of ARD-FCTA, Dr Nnamdi Nd-Ezuma, made this know at a news conference in Abuja on Tuesday.
Nd-Ezuma expressed sadness over the assault on a Senior Registrar in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Wuse General Hospital.
According to him, if prompt action is not taken by the association, there is possibilities that the situation will continue.
He said that doctors should be protected by the system, especially with the brain drain of medical workers.
Nd-Ezuma urged the law enforcement agencies to ensure that the perpetrators be held accountable and made to face the full extent of the law without prejudice.
He said that the facility should make the safety of all healthcare workers a priority, and establish adequate policy to safeguard healthcare workers.
Also speaking, the newly elected NMA-FCT Chairman, Dr Charles Ugwuanyi, expressed sadness over the incident.
Ugwuanyi said that with the insecurity situation in the country, healthcare workers were supposed to be protected rather than being assaulted while performing their duties.
“To this end, the NMA will be championing a campaign to sensitise the public and patients against further harmful activities against healthcare givers and medical doctors in particular, especially within the FCT.
“The association will start with distribution of attached branded campaign flyers across public and private hospitals within the capital city.
“We, hereby, seek the cooperation of heads of hospitals to permit, receive and direct the postage of this flyer within strategic places.
“The association will also make a robust media campaign in the near future,” he said.
Ugwuanyi said that the association would continue to admonish other medical staff to come to the aid of affected colleagues whenever such issue arose to prevent worsening circumstances.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the accused who attacked the doctor was a friend to the husband of a patient in the labour ward.
The accused was said to have forcefully hit the senior registrar on her face with the hospital ward door in anger which inflicted injury on her face.
The assailant was said to have fled the scene immediately, a situation that led to the arrest of the patient’s husband. (NAN)
