Enugu Assembly summons ESUT Chief Medical Director over poor services

MEMBERS of the Enugu State House of Assembly’, on Thursday, summoned the Chief Medical Director (CMD) Enugu State University of Science and Technology Teaching Hospital, Parlane, Enugu, Dr. Gabriel Njeze, to appear before the House next week Tuesday to explain the poor services witnessed in the hospital.

Also summoned to appear with Njeze include the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Sam Ngwu, as well as the Acting Director of Finance of the Hospital.

The resolution to invite the Chief Medical Director for questioning followed a motion of urgent public importance presented before the House by the member representing Isi-Uzo Constituency, Dr. Dan Chukwuemeka Ogbuabor.

Ogbuabor in the motion entitled,” Immediate invitation of the Chief Medical Director of ESUT Teaching Hospital, Parklane, Enugu, to explain to the House, the conduct of affairs of the Teaching Hospital and why under his watch, services of the teaching hospital have deteriorated absymally,” painted a gory picture of the rot in the hospital that patients that need emergency are not catered for.

The House Committee Chairman on Health lamented that when they went to the hospital for an oversight function, they met it in a deplorable condition.

He said that during their oversight, his team observed that quality of services delivered by the hospital had degenerated despite “unacceptably high cost of services.”

They equally observed among other things that the accident and emergency unit of the hospital turns down sick and dying patients and is not responsive and does not promptly initiate care even for critically injured patients.

Part of the rot that spooked the committee members is that the hospital lacked water supply as it is not connected to public water supply system rather they resort to buying water from commercial tankers.

Contributing to the motion, members spoke scathingly about the poor and shabby services being rendered in the giant health institution.

Honourable Sunday Ude-Okoye, Awgu North, accused the CMD of running the hospital like his personal enterprise instead of a public utility and lamented that the hospital was as good as dead.

“I thank the chairman and members for a job well done.  The CMD runs it like his father’s business.  He is running it like his private business.  That is why people are dying there.  Drugs donated are not accounted for,” Ude-Okoye declares and said that if called upon to prove his assertion, he was ready.

“I have my proof.  Ordinary typhiod fever killed my sister in that hospital two weeks ago.  Students use lanterns instead of electricity.  They buy food for N200 and eat it without meat.  Are we saving lives or extinquishing lives,?” he queries.

The member representing Igbo-Eze South, Hon. Matthew Ugwueze, posited that there was mounting corruption in the hospital.  He said that because doctors owned private hospitals, they care less about the institution, hence the rot.

“The problem of Parklane is corruption.  They have private hospitals.  Dr. Gabriel Njeze is not supposed to be there any longer,” he avers.

Hon. Anthony Ogidi, Igbo-Eze North1, in his submission posited that the management is blackmailing the state government by not providing water to the hospital especially for the student doctors, while Chima Obieze of Ezeagu posited that Dr. Njeze should be relived of his duty as the CMD instead of summoning him to come to the House for questioning.

“I think the motion should have been immediate sack not for summoning but they have to be given fair hearing,” Obieze declares.

Capturing the views of his colleagues, the Speaker, Hon. Edward Ubosi, summoned the hospital management to appear before the House on Tuesday, November 15, 2016 and asked the Clerk of the House to notify the invitees of the date.