Lagos residents are facing mounting health challenges as the strike by health workers under the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) enters its second month, crippling public hospitals and forcing patients to seek costly alternatives.
Since the strike began on December 3, 2025, services across Lagos State’s primary, secondary, and tertiary hospitals have been severely disrupted.
Visits by PLATFORM TIMES to major public hospitals on Tuesday revealed closed departments, overcrowded waiting areas, and overstretched medical staff struggling to cope with the influx of patients.
While doctors and nurses remain on duty in emergency and clinical units, the withdrawal of non-clinical staff—including pharmacists, laboratory scientists, health information managers, radiographers, cleaners, and engineers—has paralyzed essential hospital functions such as administration, pharmacy services, laboratory work, and record keeping.
At the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, the emergency unit was overwhelmed.
Relatives of patients described long delays and limited attention due to the shortage of support staff.
A distressed couple left the hospital after their teenage daughter, referred for a blood transfusion, could not be admitted because of unavailable beds.
“The doctors and nurses are working, but the strike is really felt. They are overwhelmed,” said Elizabeth Bayo, a patient’s relative.
Similarly, at Ifako-Ijaiye General Hospital, patients were forced to improvise record-keeping with exercise books after the Health Information Unit shut down.
A pregnant patient, Zainab, said the disruption had caused considerable stress. “We now write our details in notebooks for the doctors. The e-system is on hold,” she explained.
Pharmacies and laboratories remain closed in hospitals such as Alimosho General Hospital, compelling patients to buy drugs and pay for tests externally, often at higher costs.
“The hospital prices are usually lower, but now we have no choice,” said Mummy David, an elderly patient.
JOHESU’s Lagos Secretary, Adegboyega Kabiawu, explained that the strike affects about 85 per cent of the workforce, highlighting why the industrial action has had such a severe impact.
The union cited unresolved local demands alongside national directives, including the adjustment of the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS), domestication of consultancy pharmacist positions, establishment of a Directorate of Medical Laboratory Services, equitable retention allowances, and improved staff transportation.
Kabiawu added that the union was ready to suspend the strike if the Lagos State Government issued a formal memorandum of understanding detailing timelines for implementing the demands.
He also warned that enforcing a “no work, no pay” policy could escalate tensions.
The Lagos State Government, however, maintains that dialogue is ongoing. Ibrahim Mustafa, Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Primary Healthcare Board, said Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu is committed to resolving the dispute.
“Some of the demands are technical and administrative, not just financial,” he said, assuring that efforts to restore industrial harmony continue.
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