Resident doctors demand urgent action on LAUTECH manpower gap

Resident doctors at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso, Oyo State, have raised concerns over a shortage of medical personnel, warning that the situation is putting specialist training and patient care under pressure.

The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) called on the Oyo State Government to urgently address the manpower gap, welfare concerns and poor working conditions affecting doctors at the facility.

In a statement issued on Friday, the association said several resident doctors had left the hospital in recent months without being replaced. It added that doctors who completed their residency programmes had also not been replaced.

According to NARD, the shortage has become more critical in specialties such as Anaesthesia, Chemical Pathology and Haematology, where there are reportedly no resident doctors.

The association said the situation was affecting the quality of specialist training and healthcare services, while some financial and welfare obligations to doctors remained unpaid.

Among the outstanding issues, NARD demanded the payment of minimum wage arrears, promotion and accoutrement allowances, implementation of the new professional allowance for doctors and release of the Medical Residency Training Fund.

It also called for the renovation of doctors’ call rooms and on-call facilities, alongside the enforcement of appropriate working-hour regulations to prevent excessive duty schedules and burnout.

The resident doctors had suspended their industrial action on June 27, 2026, after receiving an eight-week grace period for the authorities to address their grievances.

However, NARD said the suspension should not be interpreted as an acceptance of the unresolved issues.

“Patience must not be mistaken for acceptance of prolonged neglect,” the association said, describing the doctors’ demands as legitimate welfare and workplace concerns.

NARD urged the Oyo State Government to engage the resident doctors and resolve the outstanding matters before the expiration of the ultimatum on August 28.

The association warned that failure to address the manpower shortage and welfare concerns could further weaken specialist training and healthcare delivery at the teaching hospital.