Kogi Doctors Protest Staff Shortage: 158 Depart in 4 Years, Workloads Lead to Miscarriages for Female Doctors

A group of resident doctors at the Federal Teaching Hospital Lokoja (FTHL) staged a protest yesterday to highlight the severe shortage of medical staff and harsh working conditions, which they say are causing detrimental effects on their health and wellbeing. The protest comes after a significant exodus of doctors from the hospital, with 158 leaving in the past four years.

Protesters carried signs with stark messages like “We want to work, not to work and die,” “Federal Teaching Hospital Lokoja doctors are dying,” and “End casualization of doctors.” They marched around the hospital premises to draw attention to their grievances and call for change.

Addressing journalists during the protest, the doctors cited alarming work conditions that have led to increased workloads, resulting in some female colleagues suffering miscarriages. They also criticized hospital management for failing to address staff shortages and other critical issues.

“Management has been very disappointing,” a protesting doctor said. “In 2020, we had about 222 resident doctors, but now we only have 64. The workload has increased significantly, and we’ve asked the management to hire more doctors, but they keep saying they don’t have the waiver from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to do so.”

The doctors also revealed that those who are still employed face grueling work hours without proper compensation or basic amenities like call meals. They described a problematic platform called “Gifnis,” which they claim is used to “casualize” doctors, denying them basic rights and access to fair pay.

Dr. Baoku Olusola, Chairman of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) in Kogi State, joined the protest and expressed solidarity with the doctors. He criticized the hospital management’s lack of action, pointing out that NMA had communicated with them three times in the last three months without meaningful response.

“We’re all wearing black because it’s a sad day for us here in Kogi State,” Dr. Olusola said. “We’ve been hoping that the management would resolve these issues, but nothing has changed.”

The doctors are urging President Tinubu to intervene and provide a waiver for new hires, while also calling for an end to the Gifnis platform. They emphasized the urgent need to improve working conditions to prevent further harm to staff and ensure the hospital can adequately care for patients.