Operations at the University College Hospital (UCH) in Ibadan have largely ceased as the strike by the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) enters its second week.
The industrial action, which began on 17 November, is the result of long-standing demands for an upward review of the Consolidated Health Salary Scale (CONHESS) to mirror the increase granted to doctors’ salaries in 2014.
On Monday, the News Agency of Nigeria observed that key departments — including laboratories, pharmacy, physiotherapy, emergency services, and engineering — were unmanned. Wards remained empty, clinics closed, and the usually active kitchen failed to open.
UCH JOHESU chairman, Oladayo Olabampe, said the strike is in full force and will continue until the Federal Government addresses the union’s grievances. “The hospital is not admitting patients and clinic services have stopped entirely,” he said, warning that the situation could deteriorate further without intervention.
Compounding the crisis is a separate strike by resident doctors who downed tools on 1 November. They are demanding a 200 per cent increase in their pay structure and implementation of revised allowances proposed in mid-2022.
With both strikes running concurrently, patients requiring urgent or routine care are being turned away, while surgeries have been suspended. The shutdown is also expected to impact the hospital’s internally generated revenue, raising fresh concerns over financial stability.
