Exposed: The Sorry State Of 46 Bedspace General Hospital Agbashi In Nasarawa, How It Lies In Ruins (Photos)

… Has only one doctor

…Workers gather money to buy fuel

Despite the frantic measures taken by the Governor of Nasarawa State, Engineer Abdullahi Sule to ensure an effective, efficient, and serene atmosphere in public health facilities, General hospital Agbashi is still in a sorry condition.

If it is the first time you are visiting the General hospital Agbashi community, the administrative head of Ekye Development Area of Doma Local Government of Nasarawa state, you will be shocked by what you will see at the hospital.

A visit to the hospital is a complete eyesore as heaps of yam, maize, and other plants have overgrown in the premises with no sign of any medical personnel on the premises, while an attempt to enter any of the wards, as a visitor, you will be greeted by the bad odor oozing out from the rooms which are lacking good mattresses.

When Universal Reporters visited the hospital one Friday at precisely 12:35 pm, the security man on duty was busy sleeping while on the left-hand side lies a Peugeot 504 saloon car that is used for an ambulance service, standing on a log used to support the dearth ambulance.

One of the support staff who was conducting stitches on a female patient was sighted working without hand gloves as he was battling with cloth of blood coming out of his patient, when asked he said that was the normal practice in the hospital.

Our reporter who went around the 46-bed space facility can authoritatively confirm that in some of the wards like female and surgical wards, there are disjointed and dirty mattresses while in the male ward no single bed was seen, instead, patients were foisted to use the bare wire bed or use mat brought to the hospital by their relatives.

The condition of the mattresses poses serious health hazards because of the age of the forms which are without any cover, an unlucky patient can contract skin disease in the process, also the hospital has only one tattered bedsheet.

An insider who pleaded anonymity unraveled that the hospital has only one doctor who is an indigene of Plateau state, when contacted in the last apartment few meters away from the fence of the General hospital said he was posted to head the hospital barely two years ago.

He decried the lack of patronage of the people of the community where the hospital is located, he declined to comment on the shamble condition of one of the best General hospitals established by during the government of late Governor, Aliyu Akwe Doma ( Madaucin Doma), 

The hospital also lacks a drug store as it is obtained in General hospitals across the state, while patients or their relatives are in the habit of open defecation due to the absence of habitable toilets.

When asked whether water is a problem in the hospital, one of the casual staff affirmed that the staff of the hospital and patients has to donate money to buy fuel that will enable them to pump water from a borehole.

It was gathered that the staff of the hospital is compelled to contribute money to buy petrol for the pumping of water from borehole.

General hospital Agbashi is one hospital that was known for its acute shortage of manpower, it was revealed that doctors posted to the facility are in the habit of rejecting their new postings, not until the coming of the present Medical Director, who hails from Plateau State that was able to break the jinx.

He assumed office for barely two years in the general hospital, the hospital is not serving the people of Agbashi community only but was established to serve the people of the surrounding communities ranging from Olegabogye, Okpanya, Ajirma, Iponu,  amongst others.

It was gathered that some people from the community preferred traveling all the way to either Odeni in Nasarawa Local Government or to cross to Benue state to access better hospitals.

It would be recalled that the state government has stated that it has expended over N1.5 Billion for the renovation and expansion of a chunk of Primary Health Care including nine General hospitals in the state, the money, according to available information was gathered from the Save One Million Lives programme known as N-SHIP.

The Chief Medical Director of the Nasarawa State Hospitals Management Board, Dr.Edego could not be reached for comment on, Dr. Edego the conditions of General hospitals in the state.

All attempts to speak to the commissioner of health, Pharmacist Ahmed Baba Yahaya hit brick walls as he failed to respond to calls or texts sent to him.

An indigene of Agbashi confided that if not the present Medical Director in charge, no medical personnel have ever spent one month in the facility.

It was even alleged that the commissioner of health does transfer staff to the hospital as a punishment for any staff found wanting.