Patients Stranded as Health Workers’ Strike Hits Katsina Hospitals, Families Beg Radda to Intervene

BY TAIBAT UMMI YAKUBU

Patients requiring medical attention at public hospitals in Katsina State are facing growing uncertainty as a strike by health professionals disrupts services, leaving worried families pleading with the government to resolve the dispute.

The situation was evident on Saturday at Turai Yar’adua Maternal and Child Hospital in Katsina, where only a handful of patients were seen around the surgical ward, while caregivers struggled to determine how their sick relatives would receive the treatment they needed.

For families relying on government-owned hospitals, the industrial action has created additional anxiety, particularly for patients recovering from surgery or requiring urgent medical attention.

One of the affected caregivers, Aina’u Abdulmajid, appealed to the Katsina State Government to intervene, saying her patient was experiencing complications following surgery.

“For the sake of God, we call on the government to intervene. Our patient is suffering from complications arising from surgery. Please help us and restore services,” she pleaded.

Her appeal reflects the concerns of families caught in the middle of a prolonged disagreement between health workers and the government, with patients bearing the immediate consequences of the disruption.

Another caregiver, Sulaiman Mansir, said he had taken his sick child to the hospital for treatment but was confronted with the difficulties created by the strike.

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Mansir expressed concern about the uncertainty surrounding his child's care, urging the government to return to the negotiating table and reach an agreement with the striking workers as quickly as possible.

The disruption has added to the financial and emotional pressures facing patients' relatives, many of whom already struggle to meet the costs of transportation, medication and other healthcare needs.

The strike followed disagreements between the Assembly of Health Professionals and the Katsina State Government over workers' welfare and remuneration. The association embarked on a one-week warning strike after negotiations failed to produce an agreement acceptable to its members.

During the discussions, the state government offered a 15 per cent increase, but the health professionals rejected the proposal, maintaining that it did not meet their demands.

The Head of the Katsina State Civil Service, Alhaji Masa’ud Banye, confirmed that the government had met with representatives of the affected workers to discuss the outstanding issues.

Banye expressed optimism that the disagreement would soon be resolved, while acknowledging the hardship the strike had imposed on patients and their families.

He reiterated that the administration of Governor Dikko Radda remained committed to effective healthcare delivery across the state.

With patients and caregivers continuing to face uncertainty, attention is now focused on whether further negotiations will produce a breakthrough before the warning strike ends, allowing normal services to resume and reducing the burden on families dependent on public hospitals.