Medical doctors at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Owo, Ondo State, on Monday staged a peaceful protest against the assault of one of their colleagues by relatives of a patient, describing the incident as part of a growing trend of attacks on healthcare workers.
The protesting doctors, under the auspices of the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), FMC Owo Branch, marched around the hospital premises carrying 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 ARD Chairman, Dr Oluwadamilola Adeola, said the demonstration was aimed at sensitising both the hospital community and the public to the recurring attacks on health workers.
According to him, incidents of assault against doctors and other healthcare personnel have become frequent, with several cases recorded in the facility this year alone.
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“The peaceful walk is meant to sensitise our hospital community concerning these recurring assaults against health workers. It has become a regular occurrence. This year alone, we have recorded about three or four cases, while some others were not even reported,” he said.
Adeola demanded the immediate arrest and prosecution of the individual involved in the latest assault, expressing dissatisfaction with what he described as the slow pace of action on previous cases.
The ARD chairman also disclosed that resident doctors at the hospital’s Akure annex were currently on industrial action over security concerns.
He added, “We want the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrator. Our people are not satisfied with the slow pace of the process. We also want armed security personnel at our gates and a public apology from those responsible. These steps will serve as a deterrent and prevent a recurrence.”
“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 management to address this urgently.”
He further recalled a previous assault case in which a health worker was hospitalised, lamenting that no concrete action had been taken against the offender.
“We have a pending case that happened earlier this year where a health worker was admitted because of the assault. Nothing has been done. The individual involved even threatened to return and kidnap or kill a doctor. We cannot wait until a doctor is killed before taking action,” Adeola stated.
He warned that failure to meet the doctors’ demands could jeopardise industrial harmony within the institution, saying, “We cannot guarantee industrial harmony until our demands are met.”
Also speaking, a Senior Registrar in the Department of Family Medicine, Dr Dotun Odumade, said the protest was intended to raise awareness and reinforce the collective opposition of healthcare professionals to violence in the workplace.
Odumade stressed that hospitals should remain places of peace and order, noting that established channels exist for patients and relatives to lodge complaints over perceived grievances.
“As a body, we stand against any form of violence against health workers, including doctors, nurses, paramedics and every professional working to save lives in the hospital. The hospital is a place for serenity. There is no room for jungle justice. If patients or their relatives are dissatisfied with the healthcare they receive, there are laid-down channels through which complaints can be addressed and investigated,” he said.
He urged hospital management and relevant authorities to strengthen security within the facility by deploying armed personnel to protect staff and patients.
“If management fails to provide adequate security, or if the government fails to secure the hospital environment, we cannot assure uninterrupted services. An injury to one health worker is an injury and a threat to all,” Odumade warned.
The protesting doctors maintained that ensuring the safety of healthcare workers was essential to the effective delivery of medical services and called on authorities to act swiftly on their demands.
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