Patients and stakeholders in Delta have lauded the state government’s investments in public hospitals but urged the recruitment of more medical personnel to address the shortage of workers in state-owned hospitals.
They said that although the government has invested so much in the health sector, the challenge remains the recruitment of more medical personnel in the various health facilities.
A cross-section of respondents who spoke to journalists in Asaba and environs yesterday affirmed that the state government, led by Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, has approved and renovated most Primary Health Care Centres (PHCs) across the state.
They said that shortage of personnel, epileptic power supply and internet connectivity delays have impacted negatively on service delivery, thereby causing patients to wait longer than necessary at the facilities.
They also lauded the improved sanitation in most hospitals but decried the overcrowded facilities with severe shortage of health workers, lack of essential medicines and equipment, dilapidated infrastructure, lack of water, among other challenges in some of the facilities.
A resident of Asaba, Patricia Okolo, hailed the state government for investing more in the health sector, particularly in maternal and child healthcare.
According to Okolo, the government’s investment in maternal and child healthcare, immunisation, and the rehabilitation and equipping of general hospitals is commendable.
On his part, a patient at Asaba Specialist Hospital, Johnson Iyili, lauded the state government for establishing the State Contributory Health Insurance Scheme, adding that it has made healthcare accessible, especially for vulnerable members of society.
Iyili said: “I am a civil servant, the health insurance scheme has helped us access health care without paying out of our pockets, particularly during periods when we have no money to pay.”
Also speaking, a resident of Ogwashi-Uku, Theresa Odua, lauded the contributory health scheme, which has afforded them the opportunity to access healthcare with as low as N7,000 yearly premium.
According to her, with the payment of N7,000 per person yearly, those in the scheme are entitled to maternal and newborn care: routine antenatal clinic visits, prescribed pregnancy drugs, ultrasound scans, and delivery services.
“We also access routine medical consultations, health education, and treatment for common ailments.”
Odua noted that the noticeable challenges remain the general shortage of medical personnel, power failure, and delays due to poor network services from providers, causing patients to wait longer than necessary at various facilities before accessing healthcare.
She, however, noted that with the insurance scheme and improved facilities at various centres, patients access specialised care.
“Access to eye care, dental care, surgery, internal medicine, and specialised clinics such as diabetes and hypertension management, as well as routine blood tests, urinalysis, and other essential laboratory investigations, are enhanced.”
Also, a patient at Ekpan General Hospital, Warri, Brume Onoriode, lauded the government for its efforts in improving services at the hospital, especially the installation of solar power in critical sections of the hospital.
He, however, decried the lack of necessary equipment in the hospital, especially in the laboratory.
“Most times they don’t have the equipment to carry out the tests required before treatment. Patients are directed to private laboratories that are usually expensive.
“Government should help us. The cost of these services in private facilities is enormous, as most of us cannot afford it,” he said.
In her reaction, Ewomazino Umukoro, whose father was hospitalised at Ekpan General Hospital, lamented the long waiting hours and the cumbersome registration process at the hospital.
“Everything is done manually; it is tiring. Government should deploy technology, especially at the general Out-Patient Department, to make the process faster, particularly for very sick patients.”
She, however, commended the government for sustaining the contributory health scheme, saying it has helped in managing her father’s diabetic condition.
“Every month, my father goes to the hospital to collect his diabetic medication. This has really saved us a lot of money, considering the high cost of drugs presently.
“With the payment of just N7,000 yearly, he has access to his medication at all times, including treatment for common ailments.”
Umukoro also called for expansion of services at the hospital, adding that most patients who needed to see specialists were usually referred to other government hospitals that are often far away.
A health worker at the Ekpan hospital, who craved anonymity, decried the lack of manpower following the exodus of health workers abroad.
“We are overworked. The workload is too much. Government should recruit more workers and pay them well in order to curtail the ‘japa syndrome’,” she said.
She commended the authorities for improved welfare for health workers and urged them to expedite action on the earlier announced recruitment of 700 health workers in the state.
A nurse at the Primary Health Care Centre in Ogwashi-Uku, Janet Chukwura, lauded government for the rehabilitation works at the facility, including the provision of solar power to aid their services.
She equally commended the free maternal services, treatment for children under five, and routine immunisation, adding that it has led to a decline in maternal mortality and childhood killer diseases in the area.
Chukwura identified some of the challenges confronting the clinic to include shortage of manpower, lack of security, and acute shortage of water, especially during the dry season, while calling for measures to address them.
A patient at the Ogwashi-Uku PHC, who came for antenatal care, Mrs Agnes John, thanked the state government for the free healthcare services for pregnant mothers and children under five years, adding that it has reduced her husband’s financial burden.
Efforts to speak with the State Commissioner for Health, Joseph Onojaeme, were futile as he could not be reached.
However, the commissioner recently addressed journalists on the state government’s approval to recruit 700 medical and non-medical personnel to enhance healthcare delivery.
According to Onojaeme, the approval by Oborevwori to recruit 700 workers underscores his administration’s commitment to expanding the health sector in line with ongoing infrastructural upgrades.
He explained that the recruitment became necessary due to increased demand for healthcare services following major developments in the state’s healthcare sector.
He cited the upgrade of the General Hospital, Warri, to a Central Hospital and the near-completion of the Mother and Child Hospital in Ekpan as reasons for recruiting more personnel.
“This approval reflects the government’s proactive approach to ensuring that our health facilities are adequately staffed to meet the growing needs of our population,” Onojaeme said.
He further disclosed that 295 personnel would be deployed to the Hospital Management Board, while the Delta State University Teaching Hospital would absorb 120 staff.
He also said that 100 personnel would go to the newly established College of Health Technology, Ovrode, while the Asaba Specialist Hospital and Warri Central Hospital would receive 60 and 12 personnel, respectively.
Onojaeme expressed confidence that the recruitment exercise would mitigate the shortage of workers at the various facilities.
He said the government had put modalities in place to establish a State Public Health Laboratory and construct a psychiatric hospital to further expand healthcare services, adding that the government had already procured three 1.5 Tesla MRI machines.
He said, among others, that the government has invested in dialysis infrastructure, which has reduced treatment cost to as low as ₦45,000 in some facilities, with further reductions possible through additional interventions.