Doctors employed at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Owo, and its Akure Annex have commenced a 72-hour warning strike following the alleged assault of a medical doctor by a patient’s relative within the hospital premises on Sunday.

The industrial action was declared by the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), FMC Owo, after a doctor on duty was reportedly attacked while attending to patients.

The wife of a patient was said to have assaulted the doctor on duty at the hospital.

Some individuals reportedly later stormed the facility in search of the doctor, forcing staff members to move him to a secure location within the hospital.

In a communiqué signed by the association’s President, Dr. Adeola Oluwadamilola, and Secretary-General, Dr. Dare Aderemi, the doctors described the incident as another example of the growing violence faced by healthcare workers in the course of their duties.

They alleged that the doctor was physically assaulted by a patient and the patient’s daughter, noting that the incident was the second attack on a doctor recorded at the institution this year.

The association also presented a number of demands in response to the incident.

These include the immediate arrest and prosecution of those involved in the attack, the deployment of armed security personnel to FMC Owo and its annexes, a public apology by the alleged assailant in a national newspaper, and adequate compensation for the victim. (Channels)