The Association of Resident Doctors has said 26 out of the 150 of its members have left the University of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital in Ondo State due to non-payment of their entitlement.

President of ARD in the state-owned hospital, John Matthew, stated this while declaring a 14-day warning strike in Akure. 

Mr Matthew, who lamented the dearth of doctors at the hospital, claimed that the government had refused to pay their seven months’ salary arrears.

He noted that the medical doctors were resigning from the hospital to seek greener pastures due to the lack of adequate welfare and payment of their entitlements. 

“There are no staff members due to japa syndrome and there are only 22 resident doctors at UNIMEDTH compared to the previous figure of 150 resident doctors,” Mr Matthew said on Tuesday. 

He said, “We demand full payment of the arrears of salaries owed our members and payment of February 2024 palliative to our house officers. Management should pay February hazard allowance to our members and urgently address the severe clinical manpower shortage in the institution. Our members work every day.”

Mr Matthew, however, threatened that the medical practitioners would continue to ground activities at the state government-owned medical facility if their salaries were not paid. 

In January, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa promised to address the issues confronting the health sector in the state, particularly paying the outstanding entitlements of medical practitioners. 

He also pledged to recruit more health workers into the state health sector to fill the gap of those who already left the government hospitals. 

“We will forge ahead with the approval already given for the recruitment of health workers as a way of strengthening the health sector while filling of vacancies will be done on a regular basis as the need arises,” the governor had said during the first official working day prayer of the civil servants.