Preyor Tarel, the founder of the Fly Like A Cloud Foundation, reached Naij.com team via Facebook. On the last day of the outgoing year she and her foundation team paid a visit to the Bomadi General Hospital for the purpose of checking out the condition of the premises, infrastructure and equipment. Below is the report Preyor Tarel drew up upon completing the visit.
On December 31, 2015 the Fly Like A Cloud Foundation team visited the Bomadi General Hospital to ascertain the current
state and level of service delivery in pursuit of the rural development project. The hospital, which was commissioned in 1972, is located in Bomadi, Ijaw local government area, Delta state.
In the words of the administrative personnel, which took the team around all the corners of the hospital building, improving the quality of infrastructure within the hospital is a necessity to meet the health needs of the people of Bomadi and its environs.
We have exclusively gathered that the previous state government awarded a contract for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the hospital, and it is documented that the contract has been fully implemented. In order not to mislead the public on this issue, we would like to share the exclusive pictures to prove that since 1972, despite the low maintenance system, no rehabilitation works have been executed in Bomadi General Hospital.
Bomadi General Hospital, Delta state
The Bomadi General Hospital premises
The Bomadi General Hospital premises
The hospital administrative officials state that the hospital has no access to clean water, and had to use the water from the Forcados River surrounding the building. There has been power outage for over a year due to the power plant failure. Although a new power plant has been recently installed, it is yet to start functioning as the contractors claim they have not been duly paid. Most equipment in the hospital does not function properly. Various government and private departments have monitored the hospital in different occasions in its current state, but there is still no action.
The mortuary facilities are very pathetic. If you hope for a hygienic preservation of a corpse in anticipation of a burial ceremony, Bomadi General Hospital is certainly not the place. The small building cannot contain a “reasonable” amount of corpses; this simply explains the dead bodies packed outside of the building in a very unpleasant state. Moreover, there is no alternate route to the mortuary, therefore corpses are still passed through the entrance gate where patients receive treatment. That is to say, if you are a patient in the Bomadi hospital, and a dead body is about to be deposited, there is a high probability that you will experience an unintended sight with a corpse as it will be carried through the route where the wards are located.
The Bomadi General Hospital wards
There is no paediatric ward in the hospital, so the children are treated in an integrated ward with the women. The doctors and staff quarters are in a dilapidated state, and are not adequately equipped to accommodate the entire staff. The walls and ceiling of the hospital buildings are severely damaged with holes, cracks and crawling creatures. Can you envision studying medicine in school only to work in a hospital that is in shambles?
Holes in the hospital ceiling
Bomadi General Hospita, Delta state
Bomadi General Hospital, Delta state
The medical director has outlined the structural requirements of the hospital as follows:
1. Construction of the new and renovation of the old doctors’ and staff quarters;
2. Construction of a children ward;
3. Construction of an amenity ward;
4. Renovation of the existing structures in the hospital;
5. Relocation of the hospital gate to face the major road;
6. Re-erecting of the hospital perimeter fence.
According to the statement, the implementation of the abovementioned points is urgently required to give the general hospital a new updated facelift. The director emphasises that there are numerous needs, but we should bear in mind that half a loaf is better than none.
It is very difficult to comprehend why the government has neglected the health problems of the citizens. The health sector in the Bomadi LGA has suffered so much neglect that if the problems are not solved, there are likely to be more diseases and conditions due to inadequate resources and infrastructure. Who are we to blame when the government paid for the contract that is duly executed on paper but not in reality? Will the people of Bomadi continue suffering the consequences of the executive failure? It is vital for every government to promote the people’s well-being, and address health issues.
The report titled Tracking Universal Health Coverage released by the World Bank Group and the World Health organisation in June 2015 tells: “400 million people do not have access to essential health services, and 6% of people in low- and middle-income countries are tipped into or pushed further into extreme poverty because of health spending.” In line with these findings Dr Tim Evans, the senior director of health, nutrition and population with the World Bank Group said: “It shows that we’re a long way from achieving universal health coverage. We must expand access to health and protect the poorest from health expenses that are causing them severe financial hardship.”
We are therefore pleading with the general public and the Delta state government to ensure that the Bomadi General Hospital is getting improved.
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