FG must stop UCH’s decline

NIGERIA’S reference point in tertiary health care is in a gory mess. The University College Hospital, Ibadan, inaugurated in November 1957,is highly revered in Nigeria’s medical history. Sadly, it is now a nightmarish shadow of its halcyon days.

Recently, the institution grabbed public attention again. Some patients’ families demonstrated to draw attention to the hospital’s parlous state of electricity supply. The institution is indebted to the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company and is billed N80million monthly as a Band A commercial customer. The debt compelled IBEDC to disconnect UCH from the grid.

This disrupted services but this is not the first time IBEDC has disconnected the institution. The accumulated debt profile from 2019 is N3.10 billion. According to the institution, it has paid N2.91 billion out of this. For now, its debit note is N392 million.

To mitigate the impact of this hardship, he said steps had been taken to ensure alternative power sources for critical areas in the hospital, such as the emergency department, operating theatres, intensive care unit, and laboratories.
The UCH was initially inaugurated with500bed spaces. Currently, the hospital’s total bed spaces are1,445, comprising 1,072 beds at the main hospital, 100 beds at Otunba Tunwase National Paediatrics Centre, 60 beds at Okuku Comprehensive Healthcare Centre, 50 beds at Sepeteri Comprehensive Healthcare Centre and 163 examination couches.

In the past, members of the Saudi royal family used the hospital.Unfortunately, the reverse is the case now as the present-day leaders at all levels see it as a status symbol to pay medical pilgrimages to advanced countries while leaving the country’s health system to rot.

Instead of news of excellence from the institution, the publicis now regaled with tales of inadequate facilities, staff, and funding.
It was reported that the hospital lacked a functional magnetic resonance imaging machine. An MRI machine is critical for diagnosing certain conditions, such as injuries, tumours, cysts, and heart problems. It uses strong magnetic fields and radio waves to create detailed, clear images of the organs and tissues within the body.
Two years ago, the Chief Medical Director, Jesse Otegbayo, said about 661 clinical workers resigned from their roles from 2020 to 2022, to relocate to other countries.

The brain drain is not peculiar to UCH, all Nigerian hospitals feel the pinch. Nigeria has a doctor-to-patient ratio of 1:9,083. WHO recommends a ratio of 1:600.

In its bid to save costs, the Federal Government cannot afford to reduce funding to critical sectors like health and education. These sectors are vital to national development and underfunding them to save costs is a poor choice.

Like most federal teaching hospitals, UCH suffers from poor funding. This is reflected in its dispute with IBEDC.

To alleviate the agony, the Federal Government should arrange an off-grid solution for UCH by building a captive power systemfor its electricity needs. An N80 million monthly electricity bill is close to N1 billion per annum and providing a stable off-grid power supply to an important institution like the UCH would be money well spent.

The absence of state-of-the-art medical equipment at the UCH and other teaching hospitals is a cause for serious concern. Indeed, hospitals in Nigeria should have the same high-grade equipment that their counterparts in the developed and even some developing countries have.
The Federal Government should upscale the conditions of service of the health workers at the UCH and other federal-owned institutions to stem the gale of relocation abroad by health workers.