Kwali General Hospital now offers skeletal services due to epileptic electricity and water shortage
General hospitals across the country are meant to bridge the gap between primary and tertiary healthcare services but Kwali General Hospital in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has been struggling to provide secondary healthcare services to the teeming residents due to lack of water and electricity.
The hospital, a 41-bed space facility, is strategically located on the ever busy Abuja-Lokoja expressway and plays a significant role in catering for emergencies resulting from the many accidents on the congested road.
The hospital also serves thousands of people from the adjoining villages but the healthcare services it provides have fallen short of expectations of those who patronise it, Aso Chronicle findings have revealed.
Our reporter who visited the hospital discovered that besides lacking potable water and electricity, there is also shortage of drugs. It was however observed that the health facility has up to 180 staff, including nurses and doctors.
Further findings revealed that the hospital uses three small generators to run services at the laboratory, X-ray and scanning departments; refrigerate drugs in the pharmacy, power operations in the theatre and offer services in both male and female wards. Other units in the hospital that wallow in darkness and occasionally depend on the small generators to power equipment and render services to patients include the maternity/labour room, as well as the pediatric ward and accident and emergency unit. Some patients’ relatives who spoke with our reporter lamented the poor management of the hospital, saying it is unfortunate for a hospital of that standing and significance not to have water and electricity.
They said lack of stable electricity and the inability of the management to maintain three big generators was affecting services at the hospital.
Our reporter found out that the generators broke down over three months ago, a situation that has subjected medical personnel to attend to patients by using rechargeable lanterns and torch lights at night.
“It is embarrassing to see a big hospital like this, which not only caters for Kwali residents, but virtually every neighbouring community without adequate power and water supply. Even accident victims are brought here, because it is nearer but some patients are mostly referred to Gwagwalada due to lack electricity to carry out surgeries at Kwali,” a patient who simply identified himself as Josiah said.
He also disclosed that despite the hospital having two over-head tanks, patients sometimes faced problem of acute water shortage due to lack of functional generators that will pump water to the over-head tank for use in the hospital.
He said the hospital is run on three small generators, to power only the laboratory, maternity and theatre; adding that patients are mostly left in darkness.
A health worker with the hospital, who craved anonymity, told Aso Chronicle that the hospital has been facing challenges of lack of electricity, adding that the three power plants broke down over three months ago due to lack of what he described as ‘maintenance culture’ on the part of the management.
He said the only alternative source of power supply at the hospital over the past three months had been the small generators, which he noted, caused noise pollution and escalate patients’ health condition.
“Even the three small generators that serve only the laboratory, maternity ward and theatre are put off when it is 12 midnight, as it cannot serve the entire hospital, and that is why, sometimes, we get light for four or six hours in a day,” he said.
Also, a nurse at the hospital, who also preferred to remain anonymous, told Aso Chronicle that they always referred patients requiring surgery to Gwagwalada University Teaching Hospital due to lack of water and stable electricity to carry out the operations.
“You can imagine that one of the over-head tanks has been leaking for over six months without being repaired. Despite the influx of patients to this hospital on daily basis, even the X-ray and scanning department hardly carry out services due to poor power supply,” he said.
According to him, the sterilization of hospital equipment within the past one month has also suffered a setback because of epileptic power supply.
The nurse added that the potency of drugs within the pharmacy unit was another big challenge, saying the pharmacy could not store drugs within the normal temperature level.
“Most women who are in labour are always brought here and are attended to at night using a rechargeable lantern provided by the hospital management. In fact, there was a time the medical director said any patient that was brought to the hospital at 12 midnight should be referred to another hospital,” the source said.
Aso Chronicle further gathered that even accident and road crash victims are attended to by doctors and nurses at night using lanterns.
Another health personnel, who preferred to remain anonymous, but was visibly angry with the state of affairs at the hospital , alleged that the management has failed to take advice from some senior nurses working at the hospital, saying the medical director did not listen to advice from staff.
“How do you expect things to go smoothly since the medical director feels he can do it alone?
“He has never called for a meeting, at least for the past four years now. Unfortunately, the hospital has not been working very well and that has resulted to the death of some innocent souls,” he said.
Meanwhile, a source at the administrative department of the hospital, told Aso Chronicle that the hospital is facing the current crisis due to the introduction of the Treasury Single Account (TSA).
“You know the hospital operated four different service accounts, until when it was later collapsed to a single account, which has now affected the running of the hospital. The medical director seems not to be comfortable with it and has decided to remain unconcerned about addressing some of the challenges,” the source said.
Reacting, the medical director of the hospital, Dr. Jude Okwonkwo, attributed lack of stable electricity at the hospital to the introduction of the single treasury account, even as he said he has already invited mechanics to come and fix one of the broken down generating plants.
He, however, denied directing any nurse on duty to refer any patient that was brought into the hospital after it is 12 midnight.
The MD claimed that there is stable water supply at the hospital, especially whenever power supply is restored by men of the electricity distribution company.
By: Abubakar Sadiq Isah
Daily Trust News
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