By Ismail M. Kabir
Following the recent outburst on Tao FM radio station on the pitiable condition of the Okene general hospital, the long abandoned renovation work has commenced again.
Workers were on site when our team visited the hospital on Tuesday, 28th April, 2015. Most of the roofs have been replaced on the admission wards while the staff car park was undergoing repair as at the time of our visit.
It could be recalled that the hospital renovation contract was recently awarded by Kogi State government to a yet to be identified company which later abandoned the job after the removal of the old roofs over most parts of the hospital building.
This led to the destruction of some of the hospital equipments and facilities including items donated by the World Health Organization (WHO). The hospital workers have been on strike since December 2004 following the failure of the state government to meet up with the some demands made by the Health workers union in the state.
The industrial action paralyzed the activities of the once busy hospital. Patients have deserted the hospital as there are no medical personnel to attend to them while the premises is covered in bushes.
The hospital which was upgraded to a zonal hospital by the state government in recent years is the major health center in entire Kogi central district.
No staff was available to speak with us on the strike but a casual staff who preferred anonymity lamented the insensitivity of the state government about the plight of its citizens. He said the unmet demand of the workers that led to the strike was far less than the monthly revenue generated from the hospital to the state government.
"Since the strike started in December last year, the revenue we generate to the state government which is never less than N5million monthly has since stopped. Yet, the governor is not bordered about it", he said.
Four over four months, the zonal hospital has remained inaccessible to the sick and people with various medical needs. To say that the hospital is the hope of the common people in the community who can hardly afford the private health center leaves much to be imagined.
Since no resumption date has been announced for the striking workers, the chances of the ordinary people in the community to survive health issues remain largely on hope.
Photos of on-going renovation work at Zonal Hospital, Okene:
Workers were on site when our team visited the hospital on Tuesday, 28th April, 2015. Most of the roofs have been replaced on the admission wards while the staff car park was undergoing repair as at the time of our visit.
It could be recalled that the hospital renovation contract was recently awarded by Kogi State government to a yet to be identified company which later abandoned the job after the removal of the old roofs over most parts of the hospital building.
This led to the destruction of some of the hospital equipments and facilities including items donated by the World Health Organization (WHO). The hospital workers have been on strike since December 2004 following the failure of the state government to meet up with the some demands made by the Health workers union in the state.
The industrial action paralyzed the activities of the once busy hospital. Patients have deserted the hospital as there are no medical personnel to attend to them while the premises is covered in bushes.
The hospital which was upgraded to a zonal hospital by the state government in recent years is the major health center in entire Kogi central district.
No staff was available to speak with us on the strike but a casual staff who preferred anonymity lamented the insensitivity of the state government about the plight of its citizens. He said the unmet demand of the workers that led to the strike was far less than the monthly revenue generated from the hospital to the state government.
"Since the strike started in December last year, the revenue we generate to the state government which is never less than N5million monthly has since stopped. Yet, the governor is not bordered about it", he said.
Four over four months, the zonal hospital has remained inaccessible to the sick and people with various medical needs. To say that the hospital is the hope of the common people in the community who can hardly afford the private health center leaves much to be imagined.
Since no resumption date has been announced for the striking workers, the chances of the ordinary people in the community to survive health issues remain largely on hope.
Photos of on-going renovation work at Zonal Hospital, Okene:
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