Asaba — General Hospital, Koko, Warri North Local Government Area has been deserted as a result of serious leadership crisis owing to alleged greed and fraud running into millions of naira.

Dr. Caroline Ajuyah, Permanent Secretary of the state Hospital Management Board (HMB), alleged large-scale fraud in the hospital, which she said was the main cause of the feud between the medical officer in charge of the hospital, Dr. Taiwo Kolo, and the hospital administrator, Henry Mene.

When Daily Independent visited the health facility, only one patient was in the hospital while the people of Koko community and neighbouring villages now travel to Oghara, Sapele and Warri for medical services, as they can no longer get it from the Koko General Hospital since doctors and nurses were not always in the hospital to attend to patients.

Most of the hospital equipments, including those donated by individuals, groups and NGOs, were locked up and some are alleged to have expired.

Irene Imilar, member representing Warri North Constituency in the Delta State House of Assembly, has called for total re-organisation of the management of the hospital when she paid a visit to the insitution following complaints of abandonment of the hospital by patients as a result of the leadership crisis.

The lawmaker lamented the sorry state of equipments she donated to the hospital (in collaboration with NGOs) and which are expired, expressing sadness over the development, saying total overhaul was necessary to restore public confidence in the hospital.

She said unfortunate quarrels in the hospital has already affected its services to the people, saying as the member representing the constituency, she would not fold her hands and allow such to continue, wondering why the management could not, from the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), keep the hospital environment clean.