By Honours Akhigbe
The fanfare that greeted the reconstruction of the state government owned Central Hospital, along Sapele Road, Benin City, has started to wane.
It was the expectation of the people of the state that the intention of government in rebuilding some of the dilapidated buildings inside the hospital complex was to re-engineer efficient service delivery.
But with the sorry state of affairs at the hospital, it is now crystal clear that rather than changing from bad to good, services at the hospital are going from bad to worse.
The Reliance Investigation revealed that the once renowned and acclaimed best hospital in the South-South geopolitical zone in the 70s has now become a near ghost hospital, owing to dilapidated structures and facilities occasioned by several years of neglect.
Presently, the hospital is in dire need of competent manpower to compliment the few workers rendering what could be called skeletal services.
“The hospital is having teething problems especially in the area of manpower. Currently, we do not have up to a quarter of staff needed to run the hospital.
“The government is fully aware of this ugly situation but instead of addressing the problems headlong, the government officials including the governor (Comrade Oshiomhole), are procrastinating and people are dying cheap death at the hospital.
“The situation is well known to the people of the state and that is why you do not find well-to-do people seeking for medical attention at the hospital. Only the poor come there because they do not have any other better alternative.
“Even when they come, they already know the fate that may befall them but they just rely on God and wish for miracle”, a senior medical staff of the hospital confided.
Besides, The Reliance further learnt that apart from staff shortage at the hospital, there is lack of modern equipment even as the existing ones are either obsolete or begging for maintenance.
Some patients in the hospital alleged that the hospital is greatly in bad shape. One of the patients who simply identified herself as Julie alleged that “there is nothing in that hospital. It is only living in its old glory. If you go there and come out alive, nobody will tell you to go to church to thank God.
“When my husband was been operated upon, suddenly the lights went off and the doctors and nurses were running hectal-scektal looking for light to complete the operation.
“We were told that the diesel in the generator had finished and that the only way they could continue was for us to get rechargeable lanterns or buy many candles for the operation process to continue.
“We didn’t get rechargeable lamps. So, we went for candle sticks. We bought a packet and about seven candle sticks were put on and it took us about 15 minutes for us to achieve that. Supposing God was not on our side, what do you think would have happened”.
It was further gathered that the Central Hospital has been disconnected from the national grid by the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) due to the inability of the hospital to settle its electricity bills running into several million of naira.
With this pitiable situation, the hospital is plunged into darkness as the old power generating set in the hospital is unable to cope.
“The generator is popularly being referred to as ‘Abiku’ by some of the staff and patients of the hospital because the generator will work this very hour and pack up the next minute and that is if the management of the hospital is able to buy diesel,” a source disclosed.
Worst still, there is shortage of water in the hospital. It was learnt that apart from the bore hole parking up frequently, there was hardly electricity to power the bore-hole, thus forcing the staff and patients at the hospital to be sourcing for water through other means.
“People now bring water from their various houses to meet their water needs. Sometimes people buy pure water (sachet water) especially during emergency. This is not good at all for a government owned hospital,” posited Mary Ogie.
Efforts to obtain the comments of the State Commissioner for Health, Dr. (Mrs.) Aihanuwa Eregie proved abortive.
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