ABIA STATE GOVERNMENT TOLD TO DECLARE STATE OF EMERGENCY ON GENERAL HOSPITALS IN THE AREA

The has called on the state government to declare state of emergency on General Hospitals in the area.

The Chairman of the Board, Dr. Reginald Alozie made the call during a presentation of report of tour of general hospitals in the state to  Governor Okezie Ikpeazu at Government House, Umuahia.

Dr. Alozie enumerated problems in the hospitals to include staff salary arrears, paucity of amenities like electricity, water, shortage of functional medical equipment and dilapidated hospital buildings.

Others are lack of medical and paramedical personnel and ambulances for emergency situations. He decried a situation where patients were referred to other hospitals for lack of doctors and equipment for surgeries and other medical care needed in the state owned hospitals.

“Surgeries are not done in almost the general hospitals because all the equipment have broken down, most of them obsolete. Almost all surgical cases are referred to private hospitals. Your Excellency Sir, please declare state of emergency on Abia general hospitals.“

Dr. Alozie said there was the need to resuscitate and upgrade laboratories, mortuaries and the only psychiatric hospital in the state, stressing that urgent attention should equally be given to the Aba General Hospital which he said was in a poor condition.

He also suggested that six hospitals, two from each senatorial zones in the state be upgraded and thanked the Governor for finding members of the board worthy to work in that capacity.

Responding, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu observed that the root cause of the problems facing the hospitals was poor attitude of staff to  duty.

He directed the board to organize orientation programme for workers in the state owned hospitals to check indiscipline among them. Governor Ikpeazu said the government understood the importance of providing quality health care to the people and would continue to intervene through systematic renovation and provision of equipment to the hospitals.

As part of measures to improve healthcare delivery in the state, Chief  Ikpeazu announced that the government was partnering US-based medical experts from the state to convert Aba General Hospital to an organ transplant centre.

He commended the board for coming up with a report which he described as comprehensive and detailed.

BY IFEAKANWA UDEOZO