The General Hospital Karu at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has a shortage of staff , basic drugs and equipment. In contrast, the Indian-owned Primus Super Specialty Hospital which sits on the land on the General Hopital is brimming with paƟ ents and business as JOSEPHINE ELLAEJEH highlights in this report
More than five months after Karu General Hospital in the Federal Capital Territory(FCT)commenced operation at the General Out Patient Department (GOPD) , Mortuary and Accident Emergency Units, the hospital is still deserted. Lacking in personnel and essential drugs, hospital equipment are laying waste and worse of all, residents of the area do not even know that it is even offering skeletal services.
For this reason, the people troop to Asokoro, Nyanya, Wuse and Maitama District Hospitals when they fall ill. At conception, the 135-bed hospital was designed to take enormous pressure off the aforesaid District Hospitals that are already over stretched by patients. Specifically, the tertiary medical facility was initiated by former FCT Minister, Malam Nasir El-Rufai for Karu residents but it was not completed during his tenure. However, successive Ministers have ignored it, especially Dr Aliyu Modibbo and Senator Bala Mohammed. Surprisingly, when the structure was eventually completed, the then FCT administration under Senator Mohammed, handed the better part of the main hospital complex to an Indian hospital, Primus Super Specialty Hospital, under a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) arrangement since 2011. The other section which was reserved for Karu General Hospital was abandoned until 2014. However, instead of providing a General health services, the FCT administration decided to run Behavioral(Psychiatry) Medicine Services. This added salt to injury because the people of Karu were not pleased with the development.
The ceding of the hospital to the Indianowned Primus Super Specialty was greeted with a lot of criticisms from the public, who could not figure out why the administration would give what belongs to the people to foreigners that are allegedly exploiting the people. Since 2014, the Karu General Hospital remained a referral centre for people with mental instability only but last April , its other units were opened, following the directive of the present FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello during a visit. According to reports, he ordered the hospital to commence GOPD, Ante-Natal and Mortuary services in addition to the Behavioural medicine services.
Blueprint Weekend’s investigations revealed that the hospital had even taken delivery of many equipment since 2005. However, some have been abandoned in the laboratory , while others are still laying waste at the lobby. The question on many lips is, what is hampering the full take off of Karu General Hospital when most equipment are on ground. Some residents, including staff of the hospital, have alleged that the management is deliberately sabotaging the hospital in order to boost the patronage of the Indian hospital. When our correspondent visited the hospital, it was bereft of the hustling and bustling that typify such District Hospitals but Primus Specialty Hospital was brimming with activities. In fact, most Karu residents do not even know that the General Hospital is now even offering skeletal services. For this reason, they flock to Nyanya, Asokoro , Wuse and Maitama General Hospitals, thereby overcrowding and overstretching their facilities. In contrast, our correspondent observed that the Karu General Hospital is very empty, with overgrown weeds littering the premises. Hospital staff, including doctors, nurses and record staff, as well as attendants, come to work whenever they like.
Only between four to five patients visit the hospital daily on the average and this has affected morale of the few staff. Some of them who spoke to our correspondent attributed the low patronage to lack of awareness that the hospital even exists. Complaining about this, the nurse also attributed the lack of patronage to the existence of Primus Super Specialist Hospital, which sits on Karu General Hospital’s premises. “This is our building. Why giving it to outsiders. It is the Primus Hospital that killed this place (hospital). People are not fully aware of this place. It is that hospital that is popular. Assuming if government publicize this place, people will start coming because there is not public awareness,’’ she said.
A woman who brought her daughter for treatment, Mrs Evelyn Dauda also lamented the lack of awareness about its existence. Mrs Daudu said even commercial motorcyclists, whom she had approached within Karu to covey them to the hospital, didn’t know the place. She told Blueprint Weekend that she got to know that the hospital is now operating by chance. Another resident, Mrs Chika Nwachukwu, who said she took her son to the hospital s o m e t i m e s in July, c o n f i r m e d that the h o s p i t a l was not f u n c t i o n i n g well.
“We had to go to the B e h a v i o u r a l Medicine Unit to carry out a test for my son; some vital tests were also not carried out on him because the facilities were not available. Even the simple malaria drugs and antibiotics prescribed for him, we had to buy them from a pharmacy outside the hospital because they were not available.’’ Administration sources also attributed the lack of patronage to the indifferent attitude of the hospital management, Others however argued that the response of private security operatives that are manning the gate is putting people off. “ T h e Security are not helping m a t t e r s , they are m a k i n g t h i n g s w o r s e b e c a u s e w h e n p a t i e n t s a p p r o a c h t h e h o s p i t a l , they will tell them doctor is not around, so they will turn back. What is their b u s i n e s s ? Who sent them,” said one of the staff.
The official, who also pleaded anonymity, said this issue has however, been reported to the Chief Operating Nurse, who has cautioned the security men to face the job they were recruited for. At the first visit, Blueprint Weekend met only two staff last week and they include a cleaner and a nurse. At 2pm, they had left the hospital as early as 2pm. The female nurse who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that although the doctors are not on ground permanently, “but they are on call. If there is any emergency we will give them a call and they will oblige.”
Several attempts to track down the Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Marcus Mamman, in his office were not successful as he was not on seat consecutively. His Secretary, declined comments on the hospital, saying simply that the minister had given his directive and the hospital opened in line with that. She even told this reporter that nobody is allowed to speak to the media on any issue concerning the hospital. Meanwhile, Karu General Hospital remains a hospital just in name while officials hide their ineptitude with bureaucratic bottlenecks as patients suffer.
