BAYELSA GOVERNMENT URGES RESIDENT DOCTORS AT FMC YENAGOA TO END STRIKE AS NMA CONDEMNS ATTACK ON MEMBER

The Bayelsa State Government has appealed to the striking doctors at the Federal Medical Centre, FMC, Yenagoa to immediately suspend their industrial action.

Professor Seiyefa Brisibe, the Commissioner for Health, made the appeal at the opening ceremony of the 30th Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference of the NMA, Bayelsa State Branch, held at the DSP Alamieyeseigha Memorial Banquet Hall, Government House, Yenagoa.

The strike followed the alleged assault of a doctor on duty on Wednesday by security personnel after a patient reportedly died while receiving treatment at the hospital. Sources said the doctor was allegedly attacked and taken to an unknown location.

Professor Brisibe urged health workers to consider strike action only after exhausting all available avenues for resolving disputes, stressing the need to respect constituted authority and engage hospital management before embarking on an industrial action.

Meanwhile, Dr. Wilcox Izibeya, Chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, Bayelsa State Branch, has condemned the attack.

Speaking with newsmen on Thursday, Dr. Izibeya, commiserated with the family of the deceased and said the association would work with the government and its members to resolve the issues and ensure the striking doctors return to work.

The NMA Chairman urged relatives of patients to refrain from taking the law into their own hands and instead channel their complaints and grievances through appropriate authorities, including hospital management, the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, and the Police.

Reported by Bright Okpo