Patients Stranded As Nurses Begin Indefinite Strike At LAUTECH Teaching Hospital

By Akinwale Kasali

Patients  at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, LAUTECH, Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso, Oyo State are stranded as Nurses and Midwives embarked on an indefinite strike, thus shutting down vital services and further worsening the country’s healthcare crisis.

The workers, under the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives, NANNM, said their decision followed the refusal of the hospital management and Oyo State Government to implement the new National Minimum Wage and address welfare demands.

The action adds to the string of strikes rocking Nigeria under the Bola Tinubu administration.

In a statement signed by NANNM Unit Chairman, Ojewumi Olutayo, and Secretary, Adedokun Foluwake, the union noted that the strike began after a 15-day ultimatum expired without results.

According to the Nurses, “LAUTECH workers have been subjected to systemic neglect, while counterparts in other state-owned hospitals already enjoy improved welfare packages.”

Their demands include immediate implementation of the minimum wage with effect from January 2025, settlement of promotion arrears from 2018 to 2024, urgent recruitment of Nurses to tackle staff shortages, and renovation of dilapidated restrooms and workstations.

The Union warned that continued neglect has driven many nurses away, created severe shortages, and pushed the hospital, Oyo’s only state-owned tertiary health facility serving patients from Oyo, Osun, Kwara and neighbouring states, into near collapse.

The strike now threatens the lives of hundreds of patients, including pregnant women, children, accident victims and emergency cases who depend on the hospital.

This development according to sources is amid growing unrest in the health sector, as Resident Doctors across the country only recently suspended their strike, with unresolved issues of unpaid arrears, hazard allowances, poor funding and worsening working conditions still lingering.

The ongoing strike by Nurses and Midwives has further escalated  labour unrest sweeping across Nigeria, leaving the health sector increasingly paralyzed by unresolved disputes over wages, arrears, poor funding and harsh working conditions.