DAILY POST
Some Nigerians have expressed mixed feelings over the current situation at the University College Hospital, UCH, Ibadan.
This is as the hospital has cried out for help, saying it was overburdened by the financial challenges.
It also blamed the high debt burden on successive administrations, who left unpaid electricity bills to the tune of N328m.
DAILY POST reports that UCH, which was commissioned on 20th November, 1957, is the first teaching hospital in the country.
The tertiary health institution is currently in total darkness after it was disconnected from the national grid by Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) on Tuesday, 19th March, 2024.
Those who spoke with DAILY POST described the situation as worrisome, with some of them querying what the hospital was doing with the money being generated daily.
Prolonged power outage not new in UCH – Mother of ex-patient
An-Ibadan based woman said that prolonged power outages were not new in UCH.
The middle aged woman, who gave birth to a baby last year, narrated how she quickly took her daughter to a private hospital due to a power outage in the hospital.
She said, “I had a baby in September last year in Lagos; the baby was sick so after 7 days I came to UCH to get treatment for her. She had to have an emergency blood transfusion and had to be put under light for jaundice.
“Can you believe there was no light to put the babies in the ICU under blue light? After 24 hours, I had to ask that she be quickly discharged. I took her to a private hospital to get treatment.
“Some babies could not be saved and some probably had complications. I am sad to see that they are still experiencing this in 2024. This is terrible”.
What is UCH doing with revenue generated – Ibadan resident queries
Another resident of Ibadan, identified as Mr. Ajibola queried why the hospital is owing such an amount of money.
He added that what was happening to UCH was as a result of corruption.
“The question is why are they owing. The high medical bills people are paying, where is the money going to?
“If Nigeria will be a better place, we all must be ready to do the right thing, as simple as obeying traffic orders, which many of us in this community do not do.
“Many of us are also corrupt and contributing to the problem of Nigeria”.
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