The beauty and excellence that the University College Hospital (UCH) Ibadan was known for is fast fading off and the institution has become something of a shadow of its former self. Or how else could one describe the deplorable condition of its emergency services, which has left patients and their relatives in agony.

That was the opinion of some of the patients of the apex medical tertiary institution, who spoke with Saturday Telegraph over recent happenings in the hospital. Though the condition has not been fantastic in recent time, the outbreak of the deadly Coronavirus (COVID- 19) pandemic early in the year has worsened the already bad situation as some patients rushed to the hospital died due to lack of urgent attention to their cases. And the situation has left many of the patients in confusion.

Some of the patients, who spoke with our correspondent when Saturday Telegraph visited the Emergency Section of the hospital, lamented the poor services being rendered by the hospital and its medical personnel. A patient (names withheld) said: “There is nothing like emergency services at the Emergency Unit of the UCH any longer.

For now, the word ’emergency’ should be changed to another thing. The place has become a killing field”. Also, a lecturer in a sister insitution, whose sister was referred to the UCH for emergency medical attention on Saturday August 22, also lamented that his sister had to stay in a car on queue within the precinct of the Emergency Unit of the hospital for 16 hours before she could be admitted for treatment.

Another patient, who was driven to Ibadan from Delta State on Tuesday eve-ning, could not be attended to until Wednesday morning, while another patient, apparently suffering from renal problem was driven to the hospital as early as 6 a.m. and was in the car till a few minutes to 9 a.m. when Saturday Telegraph spoke with him.

Though it was not known when the man was eventually allowed in or what became of him eventually, since he was the second on the queue of five vehicles then, the sister to the lecturer who stayed in the car for 16 hours painfully passed on in the morning of Thursday.

In the excruciating account of the don, he said: “My sister was referred to the UCH and we conveyed her to the Emergency Unit of the hospital by 4 p.m. on Saturday, August 22. There were five other vehicles with patients on the queue before we got there. We were on the queue and slept in the car till daybreak. Before my sister could be admitted to the Emergency Section, it was 1 p.m. on Sunday.

“Imagine spending over 16 hours on the hospital premises without being attended to. Only one vehicle was allowed in four hours. Not even any interventional treatment from any of the doctors or nurses. Unfortunately, we lost her yesterday morning.

Asked whether the medical personnel gave him any explanation why the admission process was slow, the don said they complained of shortage of space facilities. “It is when one patient is moved into the ward or to the mortuary that they will allow another patient in. What is the essence of emergency when patients stay in the car for about 17 hours?

What manner of emergency services are they rendering? An emergency shouldn’t take more than five minutes to be attended to. This is very appalling”, he said. Granted the health condition of many such patients could have degenerated before being rushed to the Emergency Unit of the hospital, the lamentation of the concerned relatives was the lack of any salvaging and stabilising attention to the patients by the medical personnel while in their vehicles. The man, who was suffering from a renal issue, as well as his relatives said: “a doctor came here and spoke with us briefly but said that we will soon be attended to.

It is now over an hour in this chilly weather and we have not seen anybody. The first person on the queue has just been moved in; we don’t know when it will be our turn. But at least, one expects the doctors to effect some emergency services, however little since they know the painful condition we will be in.”

The hospital management was however not without any explanation for the unfortunate situation, as its Head, Information Department and Public Relations Officer, Toye Akinrinlola, said that the hospital was doing its best. He said: “The overstretched facilities and funding inadequacy from the government are our main obstacles.

UCH does not turn patients back by our rules and by our standard of practice. And we have well trained responsible personnel who don’t joke with their jobs. But sometimes, we are seriously handicapped by space. “Our cubicle can accommodate just 24 patients at a time and about six or eight at the triage.

So, anytime we have patients more than what we can accommodate in the emergency that means others will have to wait. But while they are waiting, either a doctor or a nurse will also go out to have an occasional check on the patients they have brought.

“So, it is not true that we have neglected patients outside or we have kept patients unattended to for a long time. It is either that the spaces have been filled up, or all the medical personnel or health workers are seriously engaged in managing the patients that are inside. And as soon as there is any space, they move another patient in and they get attention or when you move out a patient from emergency to any ward, they get replaced. “So, we are a responsible organisation and we take the health of Nigerians as a priority. That is why we are here and regardless of the challenges that we have, we still make do with what we have to give the best.

“But I want to use this medium also to appeal to the State Government to improve on the primary and secondary levels of healthcare delivery so that the pressure on UCH will be reduced. Let me also use this opportunity to implore well-meaning Nigerians to see funding of the health sector as a priority.

If they do this, we will have facilities to work with and we will have equipment to work with.” Asked what the UCH management can do to improve this ugly condition aside the assistance of the State Government and the stakeholders, Akinrinlola said that the “government funding is not enough by any standard to accommodate all the challenges in the health sector.

You can see that by the side of the Emergency Unit we are building a four-storey building. It is under construction. If we have funds to complete that in record time, it will greatly reduce the pressure at the Emergency. We are trying our best; I must confess to you. “And if we have, for instance, six emergency doctors on ground and there are 30 patients to attend to, we are overstretching our facilities and we are also overstretching the medical personnel. That is the situation.” (Saturday Telegraph)

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