Health minister appears before Senate over poor state of teaching hospitals

Minister of Health, Professor Issac Adewole, has on Tuesday appeared before the Nigerian Senate, over the poor state of teaching hospitals in the country.

Okay Nigeria reports that the Senate invited the minister to brief lawmakers on the funds allocated to the health sector by the Federal Government through the years.

The lawmaker cited a media report which detailed “widespread cases of poor electricity supply, obsolete medical equipment and decayed infrastructure” in the hospitals.

Meanwhile, Adewole speaking while honouring the invitation, said:

“Several stakeholders in the health sector have recently raised the alarm on the declining quality of services in Nigeria’s teaching hospitals amidst cases of overcrowding and lack of adequate funding and personnel necessary for optimal performance.

“Most teaching hospitals in Nigeria have been overstretched, forcing patients to sleep on bare floor, plastic mats and other unhygienic conditions that put them at the risk of contracting other ailments.

“Patients with terminal illnesses such as cancer and kidney failure are now compelled to travel long distances to access chemotherapy and dialysis at very high cost due to the absence of the requisite medical equipment for such services within their vicinity.”