Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly will in the coming days commence a tour of the state hospitals and other health institutions to investigate widespread complaints of negligence of duty among health workers, as well as failed amenities in the hospitals.
Member representing Ibiono Ibom Constituency and Chairman, House Committee on Health, Moses Essien, disclosed this on Tuesday during an interaction with the Uyo Correspondents Chapel of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), who hosted him.
Sharing a personal experience, Chairman of the Uyo Correspondent Chapel, Bassey Anthony, said he had confronted the lawmaker on how the 8th Akwa Ibom State Assembly is responding to the growing complaints over failing infrastructure and sloppy services in the state hospitals.
Anthony said: “My Dad was very sick and spent time at the Emmanuel General Hospital in Eket. I noticed that doctors were not always on duty. Most times, patients wait on end for doctors. And most times, they don’t even come, and patients continue to languish in pain in the conditions they found themselves.
“Also, the environments of most General Hospitals, from my experience at Emmanuel General Hospitals, are very unkempt. Grasses have taken over the hospital premises, prompting mosquito attacks. Patients come with mild ailments and contact more critical health challenges because of the dirty environment.
“You also have the misfortune of no power supply. Most times, patients light candles and phone touches to take care of themselves at night. There are cases of poor power supply disrupting medical procedures and threatening patients’ lives in the public hospitals.”
Responding, the House Health Committee boss said: “You (Anthony) just preempted our (Assembly Health Committee) plan for the House. We are meeting tomorrow, and one of the missions we want to embark on is to visit general hospitals in the state.
“We are not even giving prior notice to them that we are coming so that we get first hand information on what is happening. Like the issue you raised, a medical doctor is supposed to be on his duty post to care for patients. He is not supposed to be in his house, keeping patients waiting.”
Meanwhile, through a motion adopted by the House’s Health Committee, Governor Umo Eno, yesterday, inaugurated the Board for Akwa Ibom Health Insurance Scheme, signaling the activation of a law that has been idle since its passage and assent in 2022.
