PATIENTS, HEALTH WORKERS LAMENT DEPLORABLE STATE OF EBONYI HEALTH CENTER
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HOTJIST NEWS
Patients and healthcare workers have expressed concern about the poor state of the Umuebe/Amaovo Primary Health Centre in Amovu Community, Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
An investigation found that the health centre was in bad condition, with not enough medical tools, broken staff housing, no electricity, and poor cleanliness around the area, which made it hard to provide proper healthcare.
Patients had to sit on benches because there weren’t enough chairs or beds, and the staff living quarters were in a bad state, with rats and snakes living there.
The area around the centre was full of thick bushes, and there was soil erosion and people throwing waste everywhere, which created more health and environmental problems.
Mr Ekene Onwe, a local person, said the health centre, which was the closest place for many residents, especially poor pregnant women, had become almost unrecognizable.
He said the poor condition of the building, missing medical equipment, no electricity, and lack of care had stopped healthcare services from working properly and put patients in danger.
He added that the health centre has completely fallen apart because of the local government not taking care of it and the state Ministry of Health not checking up on it properly.
He said when the government led by Dr Sam Egwu started the health centre, people came from far and wide to get medical help. Women used to go there for check–ups and to give birth, but now the place is almost empty and no longer serves its purpose.
“I know that this health centre saved many women and helped reduce maternal mortality. Before now, old men and women received treatment here. Some emergency cases were also handled here before patients were referred to the teaching hospital, which is no longer possible because of the decay in the facility,” Onwe said.
He appealed to Governor Francis Nwifuru and the state Ministry of Health to urgently intervene and rehabilitate the health centre.
“We are losing our pregnant women and other patients here due to inadequate medical equipment and lack of drugs,” he added.
A patient’s relative at the facility, Mrs Ngozi Ogbadu, said the health workers were willing to work and remained at their duty posts but lacked the basic equipment needed to provide effective healthcare.
She said the deteriorating staff quarters and poor working conditions had discouraged some patients from patronizing the facility, forcing them to seek treatment elsewhere, including from unqualified practitioners.
Ogbadu said the centre lacked essential medical equipment needed to provide quality healthcare, particularly for pregnant women, nursing mothers and children.
A health worker, Mrs Chinyere Eze, said the facility had no hospital beds, patient chairs, delivery couches, examination equipment and other critical medical tools required for effective healthcare delivery.
She also lamented the absence of electricity, saying health workers faced serious challenges attending to emergencies and conducting deliveries at night.
The Officer-in-Charge of the health centre, Mrs Ogochukwu Uto, confirmed that the facility was operating under difficult conditions.
According to her, although the centre provides antenatal care, immunisation, child delivery and other primary healthcare services, health workers are often forced to improvise because the available equipment is outdated and grossly inadequate.
She also criticized the worsening environment, pointing out that it was due to serious erosion and people throwing garbage all around the area.
Uto said the environmental problems are a big threat to people‘s health and the safety of patients and medical staff.
Healthcare experts have always said that primary healthcare centres are essential to Nigeria’s healthcare system, especially in rural areas where they are the first place people go for medical help.
They warned that not enough money is being spent on buildings, tools, and workers, which could stop progress in improving care for mothers and children.
The medical staff asked the Ebonyi State Government, Ohaukwu Local Government Council, development partners, and kind–hearted people to quickly fix the facility, repair the housing for staff, give modern medical tools, and bring back electricity.
They also called for urgent measures to control erosion and clear the refuse and overgrown vegetation around the health centre to create a safer environment for patients and health workers.
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