The University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan is in dire straits; hemorrhaging and in need of help to restore its glory and nib in the bud, further deaths of patients lacking timely need of blood.
Blood transfusion which ought to be seamless, according to the Network for Better Life Nigeria, is becoming an issue of concern for all well-spirited members of the public with patients in the UCH.
The group in a press statement issued by its Southwest Coordinator on Monday, Bisitolu Adebiyi regretted that patients at UCH suffer unjustly with many resigning to fates as the Blood Bank of the hospital is experiencing a downward trend because of the lack of power supply.
‘Worse still, health officers now resort to the use of light from their handsets to transfuse blood to patients. The UCH at night is now like a ghost community with patients lacking quality medical support in the face of power outages.
‘Reports from the hospital these days suggest that the hospital is becoming a death Centre because of lack of power and other social amenities.
‘Doctors and nurses use their phones to generate light they use to attend to patients’ files and infuse blood on patients.
‘Information emanating from the hospital also alleged that much blood saved in this blood bank has gone bad because of lack of power supply. Is it not a regrettable act that the blood being stored at the hospital is no longer safe and generally unfit for patients in need?
‘It is worrisome these days at the hospital for patients to receive blood at night as medical personnel complains of lack of power among other concerns.
‘At the Network for Better Life Nigeria, we hold that Blood transfusion as a medical treatment that replaces blood lost through injury, surgery, or disease should be free from any form of contamination but when consistent power outages occur in that section, your guess is as good as ours.
‘Nobody cares; nobody talks. No one cares to take responsibility for the happenings around that section of the hospital as patients lament and groan on daily basis.
‘More lives may be lost to this ugly trend if the authorities concerned do not wake up to their responsibilities and do the needful to prevent more deaths.
‘No doubt, we think that some people might have become victims of incidents like this and they would just die in the process with their bodies packed overnight.
‘We are urging the Chief Medical Director Prof Jesse Otegbayo whose tenure was recently renewed by the Federal Government to urgently fix this problem and other associated issues militating against quality health care delivery and unjust sufferings of the patients, ‘ Adebiyi added.
