Former President Goodluck Jonathan getting health care at the Centre
Imagine! N3.87bn allocated to State House Medical Centre, Abuja when ordinary people, owners of the money, have no access to health care. Can this be democracy? Such bears only the hallmarks of fascism.
The centre provides medical care for the President, Vice-President and their families, aides, members of staff of the State House and other entitled public servants. It is also a training facility for house officers and other medical personnel.
Notwithstanding the social injustice, lack of drugs and other essential medical items have crippled operations at the State House Medical Centre, Punch reports.
Investigations by the newspaper revealed the centre located in Asokoro, is “gradually becoming a shadow of its old self”.
Most of the centre’s patients told the newspaper they are now being asked to go and buy drugs from outside due to unavailability of drugs at the center.
According to the report patients with kidney problems who are currently undergoing dialysis in the facility are being made to come with some of the items the doctors will use for the exercise, when they are not cancelled.
The centre’s management had resorted to sending text messages to patients on items they should bring for their treatment.
In one of such messages sent to a patient, which is now in Punch’s possession, the management wrote, “Mr. XXX (names withheld), when u (sic) are coming for dialysis on Monday, buy IVF Normal Saline to be used for ur (sic) dialysis. The office doesn’t have it. Buy like four pieces.”
Another patient who spoke said he had a crisis recently because the centre cancelled his routine dialysis. He said his session was cancelled, via text message, due to non-availability of bloodline.
The message read, “Gudevening (sic), we can’t dialize (sic) you tomorrow because we don’t have bloodline. When it is available, I will get back to you. Pls (sic) dialyse (sic) somewhere else. Thanks.”
The patient said the first time the session was cancelled, he was referred to a private hospital in Garki, where he had to pay N20,000.
He added that when he could not afford the cost the second time, he was directed to another hospital in Wuse.
“As a result of the stress I passed through, by the time I returned home, I was very weak. My health situation deteriorated midnight and my people rushed me to the hospital. I was discharged about three days after,” he said.
Many other patients who spoke to the newspaper said the medical centre could no longer boast of “ordinary malaria drugs.”
“The clinic does not even have ordinary paracetamol. Paracetamol was included in the list of drugs they asked me to go and buy recently. Before now, they were giving us drugs.” another patient said.
The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, did not pick his calls when Punch tried to get his reaction on Tuesday. He also did not respond to a text message sent to him on the issue.
Recall that the Permanent Secretary, State House, Alhaji Jalal Arabi, had while defending the State House’s budget before the Senate Committee on Federal Character and Inter-governmental Affairs, and members of the House of Representatives Committee on Special Duties boasted that N3.2bn of the budget was earmarked for the upgrade of State House Clinic to a Centre of Excellence.
Arabi had said, “The budget for the State House Medical Centre included N3.219bn proposed for the completion of ongoing work as well as procurement of drugs and other medical equipment.
“The Medical Centre provides health care treatment for the President and Vice-President, their families as well as numerous civil servants working in the State House and across the Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government and of course, with due respect, including parliamentarians and members of the legislature in addition to other notable dignitaries.
“Interestingly, Mr. Chairman, on a lighter note, not only those that have been captured here attend (the Medical Centre) there are poor of the poorest that attend because we receive reference from Gwagwalada, Garki, Wuse hospitals.
“So, if they come, we attend to them and interestingly too at no fee at all, we don’t charge.
“The anticipated improvement of the Medical Centre will propel it to serve as a Centre of Excellence and also reduce medical tourism.
“May I also add that the State House Medical Centre, unlike other medical centres does not charge any fees for its services and hence does not generate any revenue for itself.”
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