Patients in Jigawa State were on Wednesday left stranded after resident doctors under the umbrella of National Association of Residents Doctors (NARD) in the two tertiary medical institutions joined the five-day warning strike embarked upon by the group.

DAILY POST visited the two tertiary medical institutions to assess the level of compliance and observed that doctors were at the hospitals but not attending to the patients.

At the Federal Medical Center, Birnin Kudu (FMC) doctors were in their unit’s common rooms while patients were in consultation rooms waiting for the attention of the doctors.

President of NARD, Federal Medical Centre, Birnin Kudu branch, Dr Shamsuddini Haruna Ubale, said they joined the warning strike due to the national headquarters’ directives.

“We have embarked on the five-day warning strike, the leadership of the association has also gone around to ensure strict compliance with the action.”

One of the patients told DAILY POST that they were left stranded for hours without any medical attention from the doctors.

However, for Federal Medical Centre, FMC Birnin Kudu, all efforts to speak with the management on the ongoing industrial action proved abortive.

One of the centre’s managers, who preferred to remain anonymous, told our reporter that “this strike has not in any way affected the services of the health facility.”

“Only 34 per cent of the medical staff members of NARD joined the warning strike, while 66 per cent were not. So, it means presently 66 per cent of our workforce are on duty,” he stated.