PATIENTS DECRY DECAYED INFRASTRUCTURE AT THE ISLAND GENERAL HOSPITAL . ----WE ARE FIXING THE PROBLEM--- LAGOS STATE COMMISIONER OF HEALTH

When John Olubumi became suddenly ill and was rushed to the Island General Hospital on Broad Street
in Lagos State , he thought the scorching pains he felt underneath the right side of his abdomen was the only problem he was going to deal with at the hospital.

Little did he know that he would have to confront other health issues in the Hospital built decades ago.

As soon as Mr. Olubumi was wheeled into the gate to the Emergency Unit, though he was still in sharp pains, he could not help being a very curious person to notice the hospital environment would become another huge challenge during his admission.

Narrating his ordeal to National Mirror after spending close to two weeks in the Hospital, Mr. Olubumi stated that his stay in   the hospital was a bitter experience he will live to remember.

Revealing further, he described his stay at the hospital as “The filthiest experience I have ever had in my life. As soon as I was wheeled into the hospital due to a sharp pain underneath my abdomen, I could not help to notice the filthy environment. The Emergency Unit where I was rushed to was an eyesore. Patients, so many of us waiting with few beddings to go round. Some patients were lying on the floor, while others were being helped to stand for hours by their relatives. Patients were there in that situation for close to three hours before they attended to us   and took our complaints- I was shocked there were so many patients to attend to” Mr. Olubumi said.

 The Emergency Unit was not only the area in the hospital that shocked Mr. Olubumi. His admission in the Male Surgical Ward following the discovery that he had Appendicitis, a disease of the stomach   compound the nauseate he said he  felt . He stated that as soon as he was wheeled into his corner of the large Ward, the only thing on his mind was to tell his family to take him out of the Ward. He said “I was in pain and when I was finally admitted, I noticed that the Ward I was kept with about twenty other patients was not befitting a place to keep sick people. The doctors need to carry out a surgery to remove the Appendicitis  from my stomach  but the beddings they have in the Ward are  old; there were mosquitoes everywhere and the walls were very dirty. I wanted to go home due to this terrible environment but the pains I felt dictated otherwise as the doctor had said I was lucky the Appendicitis had not ruptured at the time they brought me in. All through the night I could not sleep as the fans were not working. The mosquito’s bites and the filthy Ward compounded my sickness”.

 Mr. Olubumi was not the only patient affected due to the deteriorated state of the hospital.  Some of the patients interviewed during an undercover investigation of the hospital also described the poor state and unhygienic environment they were kept as the worst place for sick people.

A patient Nathaniel John Adigun, an Engineer from Ketu area of the State told National Mirror he could not sleep due to the mosquitoes bites which kept patients awake at night.

“ There is no doubt that  the nurses and doctors treated us well. Though there were nurses who will scream and shout at you and your visitors but the environment in and outside the Wards need upgrading. I could not sleep due to the mosquitoes bites.  The toilets are not befitting for even animals as the bathrooms walls and floors are blacken due to long years of use. The toilet bowl is old and filthy. In short, I did not look forward to having my bath all the time I was in the hospital.” he said.

Investigation carried out by the National Mirror shows the Male Surgical Ward like other Wards in the hospital are in dire need of urgent repairs. The beddings are old and bricks were used to hold beddings together. Also, from about twenty fans in the Ward, only eight was functioning- patient had to resort to using hand fans.

 A visit to the bathrooms showed the most unhygienic place patients go to have their bath and defecate as the floors are black and filthy  due to years of urine - the walls are also dirty with cobwebs  all over the ceiling . Though the patients get well and are discharged from the hospital, they however preferred a more decent clinic .

Investigations however also revealed that the hospital had constant electricity. Also the operating theatre was well equipped with modern hi-tech facilities for surgeries.

 Appealing to the government to take urgent steps  to address the sickening state of the hospital, Mr. Olubumi said poor people have the right to good medical care and facilities and as such the government should put all the necessary facilities in place to address the health needs of the people.

He said “I just wanted to go home every day of my stay in the hospital. I don’t want even my enemies to come here and experience this filthy environment. Sick people should not be in such a firth. I could not eat for days after I was discharged – I was very happy when the doctor said I could go home because I wanted to leave that place. I noticed the Surgical  Theater has modern equipments for surgeries of all sorts  and the doctors know their job – even the personnel are victims of the poor state of the hospital so the government should not neglect the place because it is a General Hospital . I know how General hospitals used to be in the eighties. They had the best staff, facilities and the most hygienic conditions you can think of but the reverse is the case today but government should not allow this to continue”.Mr. Olubumi said.

When contacted, the Lagos State Commissioner of Health, Dr. Jide Idris stated that the hospital is already in the State government’s refurbishment programme.

He said “The hospital is a priority in the refurbishment programme of the government. Initially, the plan was  to knock down the whole place and build a modern structure. We however though this will disrupt a lot of services in that axis if we are to do that. So we are doing the refurbishment in phases like we did at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital. (LASUTH) Ikeja and this will take a while. Apart from the refurbishment programme, we also plan to add facilities that are no longer there anymore but are needed to be there.

We have a design for this and we are discussing it. Also like in LASUTH, the issue of water and power are being addressed. We are aware a lot of things need to be done because during the construction at the Marina a long time ago, the drainage was blocked and we are  addressing that too. The contractor is on ground working on the sewage and the Ministry of Works is also working on this. The power situation is taken care of as the hospital gets its electricity from the IPP due to the huge volume of electricity required. In all, there is a total refurbishment package and they are is phase plan for all these and we look to start from next year”. Dr. Idris said.

Dr. Idris added that the Ministry is also working on improving staff welfare. He blamed the poor services at the hospital to the teeming population visiting the health facility.

Dr. Idris however assured   the government has taken cognizance of the huge health needs of patients and is   putting structures on ground to address the situation. 

He said “You know the population using that place is huge and the facilities are old. The Outpatient service is inadequate but like I said, we are addressing things in phases like we did in LASUTH. The doctors quarters need refurbishing too and we are working with the Ministry of Works to address it. We have done the mortuary, and the Theatre is also receiving attention. In a short while the hospital will be upgraded like LASUTH” Dr. Idris said.