Pregnant women denounce termite-infested health center and beat Ogun
Pregnant women and residents of Agada community in Ipokia local government area of Ogun State have denounced the condition of the community health centre.< /p>
They complained that the condition of the health center made it almost impossible for them to access good health care services.
They complained that many pregnant women seek trado-medical treatment due to unavailability of health workers and facilities.
When PUNCH Metro visited the facility, it was discovered that the center compound was overgrown, as the building was on the verge of collapse.< /p>
The windows were broken and the iron beds rusty and infested with termites.
Our correspondent also observed that the labor room was neglected.
The only nurse on duty, who did not mention her name for security reasons, said pregnant women were still coming in and out of the hospital despite her poor condition.
The nurse said about five pregnant women gave birth at the facility in October.
But residents lamented that the hospital had become a death trap for patients.
Some pregnant women, who spoke to our correspondent, said they felt pain when accessing health care in the community.
A pregnant woman, Ewaade Jamiu, said she had sought other means of obtaining health care after suffering complications at the health center during her last delivery.
She lamented that the hospital did not have the necessary facilities to care for sick children or pregnant women.
She said, “This hospital has become a nightmare for us because of its poor condition. I will never be able to go back there again because of what I experienced last time. I had complications and almost lost the child.
“You can imagine; if you rush pregnant women there at midnight, there will be no one to take care of them. They don't have enough health workers and this hospital needs to be rehabilitated. »
Another pregnant woman, Shukurat Adelani, said she gave birth to her two children at the center.
She said, however, that she did not sleep at the facility due to her poor condition.
"I gave birth to my two children in this hospital and it's because I have no choice.
“But I never slept there; I used to leave after giving birth because of the poor condition of the hospital. How do you expect me to sleep in this kind of bed? she added.
A community leader, Nurudeen Laoye, said efforts to get the government's attention to rehabilitate the center had not been successful.
He said: "Maybe because this place is far from the city; we have been abandoned and the government is not ready to help us despite several appeals.
"This hospital has been like this for more than 10 years and nothing has been done by the government to improve it. Our pregnant women gave birth in one of the worst conditions because the environment is not clean and healthy.
"If we say we want to go to private hospitals, the location is far. It will take us about an hour to get there by bike because the road leading to our community is not passable. You can imagine putting a pregnant woman on a motorcycle for an hour during labor; I'm sure she may not live to tell the tale. We want the government to come to our aid and give us a better health center in the community of Agada. »
A doctor, Tunde Adewale, who saw pictures of the health center, said the facility was unhygienic for pregnant women.
He said, "With this type of environment, there can be serious complications during labor and it can affect the child as well. You can imagine taking a newborn baby out in an environment full of mosquitoes, surrounded by bushes and not fumigated.
"The government should either shut down this place or rehabilitate it and provide the necessary facilities for it to function effectively."
When contacted, Ogun State Health Commissioner Tomi Coker said the government was renovating and equipping 235 primary health centers in the state in phases .
She said, “The government is committed to renovating and equipping 236 primary health care centres, one per service in the 20 LGAs. We're doing them in phases, so some still need to be done. We have recruited over 50 midwives and 40 physicians over the past six months. »
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Pregnant women and residents of Agada community in Ipokia local government area of Ogun State have denounced the condition of the community health centre.< /p>
They complained that the condition of the health center made it almost impossible for them to access good health care services.
They complained that many pregnant women seek trado-medical treatment due to unavailability of health workers and facilities.
When PUNCH Metro visited the facility, it was discovered that the center compound was overgrown, as the building was on the verge of collapse.< /p>
The windows were broken and the iron beds rusty and infested with termites.
Our correspondent also observed that the labor room was neglected.
The only nurse on duty, who did not mention her name for security reasons, said pregnant women were still coming in and out of the hospital despite her poor condition.
The nurse said about five pregnant women gave birth at the facility in October.
But residents lamented that the hospital had become a death trap for patients.
Some pregnant women, who spoke to our correspondent, said they felt pain when accessing health care in the community.
A pregnant woman, Ewaade Jamiu, said she had sought other means of obtaining health care after suffering complications at the health center during her last delivery.
She lamented that the hospital did not have the necessary facilities to care for sick children or pregnant women.
She said, “This hospital has become a nightmare for us because of its poor condition. I will never be able to go back there again because of what I experienced last time. I had complications and almost lost the child.
“You can imagine; if you rush pregnant women there at midnight, there will be no one to take care of them. They don't have enough health workers and this hospital needs to be rehabilitated. »
Another pregnant woman, Shukurat Adelani, said she gave birth to her two children at the center.
She said, however, that she did not sleep at the facility due to her poor condition.
"I gave birth to my two children in this hospital and it's because I have no choice.
“But I never slept there; I used to leave after giving birth because of the poor condition of the hospital. How do you expect me to sleep in this kind of bed? she added.
A community leader, Nurudeen Laoye, said efforts to get the government's attention to rehabilitate the center had not been successful.
He said: "Maybe because this place is far from the city; we have been abandoned and the government is not ready to help us despite several appeals.
"This hospital has been like this for more than 10 years and nothing has been done by the government to improve it. Our pregnant women gave birth in one of the worst conditions because the environment is not clean and healthy.
"If we say we want to go to private hospitals, the location is far. It will take us about an hour to get there by bike because the road leading to our community is not passable. You can imagine putting a pregnant woman on a motorcycle for an hour during labor; I'm sure she may not live to tell the tale. We want the government to come to our aid and give us a better health center in the community of Agada. »
A doctor, Tunde Adewale, who saw pictures of the health center, said the facility was unhygienic for pregnant women.
He said, "With this type of environment, there can be serious complications during labor and it can affect the child as well. You can imagine taking a newborn baby out in an environment full of mosquitoes, surrounded by bushes and not fumigated.
"The government should either shut down this place or rehabilitate it and provide the necessary facilities for it to function effectively."
When contacted, Ogun State Health Commissioner Tomi Coker said the government was renovating and equipping 235 primary health centers in the state in phases .
She said, “The government is committed to renovating and equipping 236 primary health care centres, one per service in the 20 LGAs. We're doing them in phases, so some still need to be done. We have recruited over 50 midwives and 40 physicians over the past six months. »
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