The Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, has decried workers’ poor performance due to an ongoing power outage at the hospital.
The Union’s Chairman, Oladayo Olabampe, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan on Saturday that the workers were not at their optimum capacity due to the outage.
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Mr Olabampe recalls that the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) disconnected the hospital on 25 November 2024, due to accumulated debts.
He lamented that the workers and patients had dark Christmas and New Year celebrations because of the disconnection.
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“Although the management had tried to install solar in some places, it doesn’t cover everywhere and can’t be compared to electricity light,” he said.
“It’s obvious the debt of millions is beyond UCH; it can’t afford the bills. It has reached a point where IBEDC brings up to N99 million as bill per month; UCH doesn’t make such kind of money they think we are making.”
He appealed to the government to consider the health of its citizens and come to the aid of UCH.
“The government shouldn’t allow a hospital such as the UCH to stay without light for more than one month. It is running to the second month now, yet nothing is being done,” he said.
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Mr Olabampe pleaded with the FG to improve the hospital’s working conditions and patients’ healthcare by assisting to pay the accumulated debt.
“The government can help pay 50 per cent of bills for government-owned hospitals as promised; this will serve as a support. The government can also increase the money allocated to government hospitals for power, water, etc,” he said.
“They can assist in generating more solar and turbine power to be extended to many other units at the hospital.”
He said this is the toughest working time for workers at the facility.
The JOHESU boss also urged well-meaning Nigerians and philanthropists to come to the aid of the hospital.
“We commend philanthropists such as Pastor E. A. Adeboye of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), who gave an amount of money for solar installations. We call on others to please join.”
Meanwhile, patients’ relatives have continued to complain about their sick ones not getting enough treatment due to the power challenge.
According to them, the delay in obtaining medical investigation results is hindering patients’ prompt and accurate treatment.
A patient’s relative, identified simply as Tunji, says the results of tests to assess kidney function now take an average of 72 to 80 hours instead of six hours.
He said the results are no longer printed but handwritten, making it prone to more clerical errors.
“This manual method also evades the check and balance in the laboratory information system for verification of results before release,” he said.
“The newborn unit has no power to cater for incubators and radiant warmers, so babies cannot be admitted as soon as possible, even if delivered in UCH. Despite the availability of manpower, most of it is wasted or underutilised.”
Meanwhile, a UCH worker, who prefers to be anonymous, commended the hospital’s management for installing solar inverters in the emergency unit, ICUs, and some wards.
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However, the source said the inverters, which covered only about 50 beds, were only for lighting.
“This is grossly inadequate considering the hospital has over 1,000 beds. The number of surgeries has grossly reduced, and many people cannot access emergency surgeries,” the source said.
(NAN)
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