In this report, Shehu Olayinka, visited the Olabisi Onabanjo Teaching Hospital and reports on the sorry state of the facility.
The Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, Lagos State and Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH), Ogun State has a few things in common; they are both State teaching hospitals based in Southwest.
They are both funded by the States government. But that is as far as the similarities go.
A tale of two Teaching hospitals
In a manner of speaking, while LASUTH is a model teaching hospital in terms of infrastructural development and functionality, OOUTH hardly fits the bill.
LASUTH, a hospital established in 1955, to national standard has relatively one of the best equipment and facilities around the country.
It has an ultra-modern 170-bed Obstetrics and Gynaecology specialist ward, a well-managed Surgical Emergency section, working CT scan and other various modern equipments.
It has a well-managed security unit, with space guarded by security officials to forestall any breakdown of law and order.
The LASUTH main entrance is free of activities of indiscriminate parking by motorists that could hinder emergency unlike OOUTH.
A lost glory
A visit to the OOUTH is an eye opener of sorts. Once adjudged as one of the best teaching hospital in the country, the Olabisi Onabanjo Teaching Hospital has become a shadow of its former self.
The hospital facility established in 1989, is being confronted with inadequate staffing, dearth of facilities, dilapidated structures as well as unpaid arrears.
Trending under the hashtag #SAVEOOUTH, the hospital’s numerous problems gained spotlight with sad testimonies of the state of the hospital from students, patients and staff.
Formerly called Ogun State University Teaching Hospital, (OSUTH), it was later named after a former governor of state, Chief Olabisi Onabanjo.
It is the only tertiary health institution under the care, custody and management of the Ogun State Government. But today, the hospital strategically located in the heart of Sagamu town in such a way that it is the natural point of attraction to accident victims on the Lagos-Ibadan and Sagamu-Benin expressways, is confronted with a myriad of challenges.
It has no working medical equipment for accident victims, besieged with shortage of staff, insufficient testing kits and a near-death maternity ward!
Leading the charge, Dr Harvey Olufunmilayo, a former student of OOUTH now based in the United Kingdom disclosed that the hospital has become a death trap and cannot even qualify to be called an Immunization Centre!!
He disclosed this in a series of tweets on his verified and official Twitter handle.
Dr Olufunmilayo’s disclosure about the state of the hospital was also corroborated by the Association of Resident Doctors, Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu, (ARDOOUTH) in a statement posted online.
Most of Dr Olufunmilayo’s and ARDOOUTH’s claims about the state of the hospital were verified in an investigation carried out by The Nation correspondent when he visited the hospital on the May 17, 2019.
Shortage of funding
The hospital has been facing funding problems for years, which according to sources has affected it operations. The Nation investigation discovered that the hospital in April generated N177 million, which to an insider is not enough to run its activities.
Olusola Sonaiki responding to Dr Olufunimlayo’s tweets accused the government of former Governor Ibikunle Amosun of being behind the decline of the hospital.
The Nation’s checks on the state of funding by the State government through the Ministry of Health discovered that the Ministry got N21.19 billion for 2018, N15.1 billion for 2017, N14.346 billion for 2016, while effort to get budgets for the hospital proved abortive as the link housing details to Ogun State budget are either broken or direct a reader to the Ogun State website homepage. It was also impossible to get the OOUTH’s yearly budget by the government from 2016 to 2019.
The hospital only got N1, 000,000 subvention funds from the government on monthly basis.
The former governor even during his 2014 budget defence listed upgrade of equipment and facilities at OOUTH as part of his administration’s initiative on health in that year.
He disclosed that the State planned the establishment of a cancer centre and massive recruitment of medical personnel and provision of drugs in the hospitals in the State, OOUTH inclusive.
While the government built the cancer centre, it was discovered that it is being funded by the hospital and a Non-governmental Organisation.
But Sonaiki, whose mother is a member of staff at the hospital, said the government has stopped supplying the hospital with what’s needed for it to function.
She said, “Everything in this thread is true! My mum is a staff of OOUTH. As far back as Amosun’s second year, my mum told me the government no longer supplied anything to the hospital, not even soap. Just recently again she said “anyone brought to this our hospital on emergency is only coming to die, we have no facilities and our doctors willingly neglect patients and leave them unattended to. The hospital is now a death trap, the governor pays zero attention to the hospital.”
He added, “There was a three-day warning strike by the doctors at OOUTH to protest the lack of equipment and materials for proper medical care. Nothing was done. OOUTH has only one functioning Dialyzer for kidney failure patients. No CT scan, no X-ray at Emergency Unit. It is terrible.”
Security lapses
A visit to the hospital by The Nation showed a lax in security
The security situation calls for concern. Our correspondent was able to move from ward to ward without being questioned by anyone. The Correspondent was able to enter the Emergency Ward and Maternity building without being questioned by anyone.
The main entrance to the hospital facility is almost like a market place. The rowdiness could hinder emergency with the frequent indiscriminate parking and stopping by motorists and Okada riders (Motorcycles) at the hospital’s main-gate.
Accident victims
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in 2018 released a staggering of figure of 28,197 deaths in the last five years between March 2013 to June 2018, all attributed to accidents.
This makes Nigeria one of the countries with very high road fatalities in the world.
While there are varying factors that could lead to accidents and deaths, but the underlying cause of deaths has been associated with the failure of the emergency system across the country.
The closest emergency hospital to treat accident victims along Lagos-Ibadan express road is Olabisi Onabanjo Teaching Hospital, which has a distance of 55km to the end of the road at Ibadan and 69km at Lagos end.
OOUTH is the only specialist hospital along the long express route from Ore (Ondo State) to Berger (Ogun State), Benin-Ore road and Lagos-Abeokuta expressway.
The Nation in its investigation discovered that the hospital’s X-ray machine and the CT SCAN machine are non-functioning. Our correspondent, who went inside the emergency ward X-ray machine unit, discovered that it has been non-operational for the past two months.
This was also confirmed by a staff of the hospital when the correspondent acted as a patient in need of X-ray check-up.
It was also found out from reliable source at the hospital that patients are now referred either to Babcock or other nearby hospitals with X-ray machine for scans.
Our source also informed that accident victims are now either to return to Ondo State or Benin or continue to Lagos State.
Another source who craved anonymity said that the hospital dialysis machine has been comatose for months.
The X-ray machine to scan accident victims, according to ARDOOUTH statement, was non-functional for a long while until about six months ago, but has become functional in the last two months, while the CT scan machine has not worked for a total of three cumulative months in the last two years.
According to Dr. Olufunmilayo on the state of the emergency unit, he said, “God forbid you travel on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and have an accident that gets you rushed to OOUTH Sagamu. You are done for. No rain Surgeon for urgent head injuries. No plastic surgeon for burns or extensive skin trauma. No Thoracic Surgeon for chest injuries.
“In case you are not aware, the closest hospital for most accident cases on the Lagos/Ibadan expressway is this same OOUTH. Yet the emergency unit has no X-ray. It has no enough beds if there are many casualties. Patients have no privacy. I hope someone looks into all this. If you get rushed in as an accident victim and with you in need of blood to save your life, if there is no relative, you will not get blood. And that means you are dead. Is this a hospital?
“As we speak, there is no Professor of Neurology, there is no Professor of Dermatology, and there is no Plastic Surgeon or Chest Surgeon or Brain Surgeon. There is no rheumatologist. And some of the above used to be there but they left. And no attempts were made to replace them.”
The union in the statement about the state of the emergency unit said, “OOUTH is the only specialist hospital along the long express route from Ore (Ondo State) to Berger (Ogun State). Accidents are a common occurrence and casualties either have to return to Ondo or Benin or continue to Lagos State.
“Should they stay or branch in OOUTH, they will likely be referred to as the CT scan machine which is the first line especially for head injuries are there but non-functional as we speak.”
The Nation also discovered a lack of privacy for accident patients. Our correspondent during the visit saw both male and female in the same ward, going against the United Nations and World Health Organisation charter on patient privacy.
OOUTH and its dirty environment
Buildings in the hospital premises have started caving in; with the Obstetrics/Gynaecology building appearing to be on the verge of collapse. Some old structures were seen plastered and some close to the Maternity building under renovation.
A part of the maternity building was covered by spirogyra, with a open gutter filled with stagnant water.
According to Dr Olufunmilayo, “The Obstetrics/Gynaecology Labour Ward is in such a terrible state I hear the walls are green, leaking and full of moulds. Yet it is the same arena that pregnant women are made to welcome their fragile newborn into the world. Later we wonder why they get infections.”
His tweet on the state of the Obstetrics/Gynaecology Labour Ward was also corroborated by the union, stating that the structures that have been standing for years since the days of being a General Hospital is still the same ones in use.
“The Obstetrics/Gynaecology building which is the only storey building and relatively new building in the hospital is no longer conducive. It appears to be on the verge of collapse as water keeps seeping into its w “Renovations have been done on most of them, however, a purpose-built centre that considers safety, hygiene and infection control is the ideal. Arrangements are already ongoing to relocate the department and ward to another building which is currently being renovated.”
The hospital environment has also been outgrown by weeds as snakes and mosquitoes have made the place a permanent residence slugging out for space with students and staff.
It was discovered that some parts of the hospital environment are a pool of stagnant water breeding mosquitoes. It was also discovered that the labour ward is without fans and students still have to close the windows because nurses are scared of a snakes crawling in.
A student who craved anonymity said he prefers to die of heat than a snake bite because the hospital has no anti-venom. On the state of the facility’s buildings, he said “Renovations are interestingly funny. Still with the old school louvres, fans and window nets. Thank God for the power of paint. Break some walls, build the same wall and change the ceiling, roofs and paint #gbaun (sic) you got a renovation lol”.
Acute shortage of staff
Further findings by The Nation discovered that OOUTH is suffering from staff shortages. It was discovered that only two lab scientists are available in the hospital. A highly placed source said it takes months for patients to get results from the lab.
A student, Busayomi who also confirmed the poor state of the laboratory science department, on her twitter handle, said it has not been easy for the only two lab scientists in the hospital’s employ.
“There are just two lab scientists at the moment at OOUTH and one is presently on leave with a series of tests to run so imagine the workload and stress. It’s really not easy for them either.”
She added, “Imagine a ward you are placed in and the roof have sank in, mosquitoes feasting on patients due to torn nets. Even the buildings are worn out; now imagine the state of equipment and to think that’s the only teaching hospital in the state. Indeed something needs to be done.”
Some of the staff of the hospital complained about the late payment of their salaries. They denied the government’s statement of not owing arrears.
They claimed they sometimes had to threaten to embark on strike before management and government respond to them about salary payment.
CMD keeps mum, Ministry, Commissioner speak
The Chief Medical Director, Dr Peter Adefuye when contacted declined comments, he told our correspondent that as a civil servant, he is not authorized to speak to a journalist.
But a highly placed source at the Ministry of Health, said the hospital was meant to be run on internally generated revenue and not government funding.
He said, the hospital was meant to run on IGR, but due to low revenue generated by the hospital government provides funds for the hospital on a monthly basis.
The source also confirmed that government provides a one monthly subvention fund which the source said was meant for grass clearing, cleaning, etc.
While admitting the problems at OOUTH, the source accused staff of the hospital of being behind the problems. The source said staff were fond of poaching patients and having an unserious attitude to work.
The immediate past Commissioner of Health, Babatunde Ipaye in a reaction to The Nation findings about the state of the hospital said it was a lie and politically motivated. According to him, in a telephone interview and a terse statement, he accused some staff of the hospital of spreading falsehood about the state of the hospital.
He also told The Nation that the government built a cancer centre for the hospital, but sources at the hospital said it is being funded by the hospital and a non-governmental organization.
He said, “What is happening at OOUTH Sagamu is different from the lies being peddled on social media. We do not owe anyone. We have renovated paediatric and surgical ward. We have paid salaries monthly even when many Federal Teaching hospitals could not.”
He continued, “I have donated equipment worth more than N50 million to the hospital in the last three years. We have installed 33KVA power line improving electricity supply from an average of four hours per day to over 18 hours per day. We have renovated more than five wards in the last one year. We have donated two ambulances to OOUTH in the last one year. We have undertaken a business model review of the drug supply.”
No matter what government officials or administrators might say, patients and close observers of the way the hospital works know that it is far from been an ideal teaching hospital.
