Ondo Doctors Protest Repeated Attacks on Healthcare Workers

The Federal Medical Centre Owo, Ondo State, witnessed a peaceful protest by resident doctors on Monday. The protest, led by the Association of Resident Doctors, FMC Owo branch, was in response to the recurrent assault on healthcare workers by patients' relatives. According to the protesters, such incidents have become common in the hospital, with about three or four cases reported this year alone, and some remaining unreported. The Chairman of FMC Owo ARD, Dr. Oluwadamilola Adeola, stated that the protest aimed to create awareness about the assaults and demand justice for the affected health workers. Dr. Adeola said, 'It has been recurring. This year alone, we have had about three or four cases. Some are even unreported. We are standing to sensitise our people that enough is enough to assault health workers.' The protesters, carrying placards with inscriptions such as 'Say no to violence against healthcare workers' and 'The hands that heal should not bleed,' demanded the arrest and prosecution of perpetrators, armed security personnel at the hospital gates, and a public apology from the perpetrators. Dr. Adeola warned that if their demands were not met, the association could not guarantee industrial harmony, and the ongoing industrial action at the Akure annex of the hospital would continue. A Senior Registrar in the Department of Family Medicine, Dr. Dotun Odumade, emphasized the need for increased awareness and opposition to violence against health workers, stating, 'We want increased awareness within the hospital and community that the hospital is a place of serenity. There is no room for jungle justice. If patients or relatives are not satisfied with care, there are proper channels for complaints and redress.' Dr. Odumade also called for the deployment of armed security personnel to maintain order in the hospital, saying, 'If the hospital space is not made safe, we cannot assure continued services.'