Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), stark contrast to the usual bustle at the Surgical Emergency Unit.
The area was largely deserted, with only a handful of patients inside while their relatives waited outside. Olamide Adeleye, a relative of one of the patients, said no patients had been admitted or attended to since her arrival that day.
She added that the previous day, some nurses had provided only basic first aid as doctors remained absent due to the ongoing strike.
A security officer at the Surgical Emergency Unit described the challenges patients face during the strike:
There is nothing anyone can do here right now because the doctors are not working. Nobody can attend to you. You can confirm this from the nurse on duty inside. If you bring anyone here, the best we can do is refer you elsewhere because only nurses are working, and their capacity is limited.”
A nurse at the unit reinforced this account, saying: “We are not admitting patients during this strike. Even if you bring someone here, we will have to refer them to another hospital. We provide first aid as needed, depending on the severity of the patient’s condition. If stabilisation is needed before referral, we will attend to that; otherwise, we issue referrals.”
Deputy Leader of the South-West Caucus of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), Dr Salmon Oladapo, expressed deep frustration over government delays and the lack of meaningful dialogue amid the indefinite strike.