Insecurity: FETHI’s Doctors petition IGP, seek health ministry’s intervention

By; Oladele Adedayo, Ado-Ekiti.
Doctors in the Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido-Ekiti (FETHI), have drawn the attention of the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase to the prevailing insecurity situation in the hospital over the death of three of their colleagues in auto crash on April 24, 2016 along Kaduna-Abuja road.
The Doctors, under the auspices of the Medical and Consultants’ Association of Nigeria (MDCAN), at its extra-ordinary meeting of May 5, 2015, took the decision to stay away from the hospital until the crisis surrounding the death of their colleagues are resolved.
However, the staff of the hospital had upon hearing the auto crash along Kaduna road that claimed the lives of six Doctors, where two FETHI’s Doctors were involved staged a protest, calling for the immediate removal of the Chief Medical Director, Dr. Majekodunmi Ayodele.
The Doctors were the Chief Surgeon of the hospital, Dr. Tunde Aladesanmi and Alexander Akinyele of the Department of Community Medicine.
The staff claimed that 42 staff had died in the hospital in mysterious circumstances in the last four years that Ayodele assumed office as the CMD.
A letter dated May 9, 2016 and signed by its General Secretary, Ido chapter, Dr. Adewunmi Bakare told Arase that some of their colleagues have been physically assaulted due to violent protest that greeted the death of their members.
“This is to inform you that the security situation of our hospital is not conducive for our members to carry out their duty.
“It is worth mentioning that some of our colleagues have since been assaulted physically and some are receiving anonymous threat calls, this has resulted in tactical withdrawal of service.
“We therefore request your command to provide adequate security within our hospital and its environ, so that our members can resume their lawful duty”, he said.
A communiqué issued after its meeting and read by its branch Chairman, Dr. Timothy Olajide, lamented that the violence that is rocking the hospital is gradually eroding the legacy left behind by their departed members.
He added that the manners through which their colleagues were being prevented from duty could affect the patients adversely.
Olajide explained that no security was deployed in the hospital on Monday while some of the rooms were still under lock and keyed.
“We call on the federal Ministry of Health to as a matter of urgency wade into the crisis, so that normal activities can resume in the hospital.
“We therefore appeal to individual staff and unions within the hospital to embrace peace in the interest of our patients and solemn memory of our departed colleagues.
“If truly we are mourning our colleagues, we need to do this under a solemn environment. We will be desecrating their legacies if we turn violent”, he said.