Due to violent attacks from
mental illness patients many the psychiatrists who presently are on strike have
decided to protest issues of insecurity at the federal hospital.
Doctors at the Federal
Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Yaba, have cried out over frequent attacks from
mentally challenged patients at the hospital.
The President, Association
of Resident Doctors of the hospital, Dr. Jeje Oyetayo, said that doctors had to
embark on an indefinite strike after the last attack on two female doctors at
the outpatient unit of the hospital in June.
She said, “Patients have
attacked doctors severally at the hospital and we don’t have trained security
personnel to address this. But the last one was on the 5th of June, two female
doctors were attacked such that consultants had to come and save them.
“The patient took an iron
rod and started running around with it and there were no security officials.
Patients get violent occasionally but the norm is that there should be trained
personnel that can disarm them.
“I mean they should hold
their hands and subdue them. But if there are no trained security personnel,
the patient and the doctor can be injured in the process of trying to douse the
violent situation and it may escalate.”
Oyetayo called on the
Federal Government and authorities at the hospital to quickly review the
security logistics with a view of protecting the lives of health workers while
delivering their duties at the hospital.
She said, “There are no
escape routes for health workers in case of an emergency such as when we have
an aggressive patient which could lead to harm to doctors, patients and
relatives.
“There is no functioning
alarm system to alert security officials for help in case of an emergency and
even the consultants have refused to run clinics due to the security
challenges.
“The Federal Ministry of
Health needs to step in to avoid loss of lives as well as bodily harm to health
workers as well as patients and their relatives,”
Another resident doctor at
the hospital who spoke on condition of anonymity also complained that they had
to consult for their patients in an unconducive environment, a situation, he
said could encourage attacks from patients.
He said, “The chairs and
tables in the consulting rooms are rickety. Patients have to stand over doctors
and we know the danger of a psychiatric patient towering over anyone.
“Many times, we have six
doctors consulting for patients in a room structured for just one doctor and
the patient. Many terrible things happen under these circumstances.”
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