Patients at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) have cried out over the perennial blackout in the wards.
A mother whose child is currently on admission narrated that since they arrived the hospital, there has not been electric power for even one day.
According to her, the nurses and doctors carry out diagnosis, do ward rounds, dispense medications with the aid of phone touch lights and rechargeable lanterns.
Some family members of patients narrate how small business centres make brisk business and cash out on those who are desperate to pay any amount to charge their devices.
Videos emerged on Wednesday night that paint a grim picture of the situation. The footages show nurses and doctors actually attending to patients with the little lights from cell phones and touch lights.
Reports add however, that patients are compelled to pay their medical bills before being admitted into the hospital wards.
Earlier in March, Prof. Wasiu Adeyemo, the Chief Medical Director of Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), stated that electricity bill has become burdensome on the hospital management.
He revealed that plans are in the pipeline for the hospital’s management to explore an alternative source of power supply, especially solar power to reduce the bill.
The CMD stated this during a press conference to herald his one year in office.
“The second issue which is biting very hard on all the hospitals including LUTH, you know in the last six years we had uninterrupted power but the bill is becoming burdensome.”
He expressed confidence that the federal government will come to the aid of Nigeria’s leading tertiary medical institution but stressed that the management will not commission new projects until the installation of solar power.
“We have cried to the federal government and help is near I believe. However, we need to diversify. We have abandoned the natural sunlight that we all have and as a management, many of our facilities are going to be equipped with solar power I can assure you that with all the new structures that are coming up in LUTH, we are not going to commission them until we have Solar power as additional power source,” he said.
He assured the management’s commitment to execute the mandate of the federal government by improving the country’s health care and Promoting Medical Industrialisation.
“The present administration of LUTH under my leadership will continue to partner with the leadership of the FMOH&SW and contribute our quota towards achieving the laudable 4- 4-point agenda,” he said.
He expressed worry that lack of research has been one of the major issues affecting the staff of the hospital, saying that the management has established a research grants committee for resident doctors for part II research projects.
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