The strike embarked upon by Joint Health Sector Unions on Tuesday has crippled health care activities at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital (NAUTH), Nnewi, Anambra State.

Information reaching News Express has it that more than 1,800 members of the Joint Health Sector Unions working at the institution have joined their colleagues across the nation on the ongoing strike.

According to a source who spoke to our correspondent, he said that the Chief Medical Director of NAUTH, Professor Anthony Igwegbe, had appealed to the striking workers to provide skeletal services to ease the plight of patients already on admission and those being brought in on a daily basis.

He said that the CMD particularly mentioned emergency services as an area of concern adding that without their services, lives may be lost.

The source further said: “Health workers are under an obligation to save lives and that should be done for the sake of humanity.

“But the workers ignored his appeal. We will watch and see how we are going to manage the situation.”

When contacted, the Chairman of JOHESU, Ikenna Anahalu, insisted that the strike must continue saying that they will not go against the directives of a national body which they belong to.

“There must be 100 percent compliance to the strike until our national body instructs otherwise. We were strictly warned not to go close to the hospital premises within the pendency of the strike.”

Absence of health services in the hospital has led to huge withdrawal of patients from the hospital by their family members to private hospitals.

Update news