- The Joint Health Sector Union at UCH expressed concerns over declining worker performance due to prolonged power outages impacting hospital operations
- JOHESU Chairman Oladayo Olabampe urged the Federal Government to assist with electricity debts and improve funding for essential services
The Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, has expressed concerns over declining worker performance due to prolonged power outages at the hospital. JOHESU Chairman, Mr. Oladayo Olabampe, disclosed that the power disconnection by the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) since November 25, 2024, had severely impacted the hospital’s operations.
According to Olabampe, the power cut resulted from accumulated debts running into millions of naira, leaving patients and health workers to endure a dark Christmas and New Year period.
“Although solar installations have been made in some areas, they do not cover the entire facility and cannot fully replace public power supply. The hospital faces electricity bills as high as N99 million per month, which is unsustainable given its financial constraints,” Olabampe stated.
He urged the Federal Government to assist by paying a portion of the debt and improving funding for government hospitals to cover essential services like electricity and water.
“The government could fulfill its promise to pay 50% of utility bills for government-owned hospitals and increase allocations to help generate more solar and turbine power,” Olabampe said.
He also appealed to philanthropists and well-meaning Nigerians for support, praising contributions like those from Pastor E.A. Adeboye of the Redeemed Christian Church of God for solar installations.
Patients and their relatives have voiced frustration over delays in medical services due to the power crisis. Test results, which previously took six hours, now take up to 80 hours to process.
Additionally, the lack of power in the newborn unit means incubators and warmers cannot be fully operational, affecting admissions for newborns.
A hospital worker, speaking anonymously, commended the management for installing solar inverters in critical units but noted that these inverters only provide lighting for about 50 beds, far short of the hospital’s 1,000-bed capacity.
“Emergency surgeries have reduced drastically due to inadequate power supply, despite having sufficient manpower available,” the worker noted.
The hospital and its workers continue to appeal for urgent intervention to restore stable power and improve healthcare delivery at the facility.
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