Around 60 patients left without care after nurses’ strike at Onema Ototo hospital in Sankuru

Around 60 patients at the Onema Ototo general referral hospital, about 40 kilometres from Lodja, have been without care since nurses began a strike last week. The staff are demanding administrative and financial support from the government and payment of their risk allowances. Patients who underwent surgery say their wounds are no longer being dressed and they are not receiving injections; with no nurses available, patients have been moved into one ward. Health zone chief Dr Mathieu Lotshilenge urged the government to address the demands and cited shortages of staff, salaries and allowances.