"According to him, the doctors in the hospital were not providing adequate medical services to the community."
In 2019, the Osun State government spent N35 million to rehabilitate Ifetedo General Hospital, a rural Osun State community healthcare facility.
The funds were aimed at improving healthcare services and accessibility for the community's residents. However, investigation reveals that the hospital is not living up to its potential, with inadequate staffing and limited operating hours causing frustration and concern among residents.
It was a hot Saturday morning as the reporter trudged along the dusty road leading to Ifetedo General Hospital. Walking further down the path, the terrain turned into a challenging journey, with the potholes on the road filled with puddles of water that reflected the scorching sun like little mirrors, creating an almost surreal image. The air was filled with a pungent smell of wet earth and stagnant water that stuck to the nostrils.
The hospital building looked impressive with its freshly painted walls and neatly trimmed hedges. Gullies were at the entrance, with no cars parked outside and no patients in sight. The building looked deserted.
While inside the empty wards, only one doctor was on duty, scrolling through some files on his desk. The doctor, Dr. Adetunbosun explained that the hospital doesn't operate on weekends as the nurses and doctors are off duty.
"They live far away. They resume on Mondays and go back to their various homes on Fridays," he simply said.
It was clear that the hospital, battling limited staff numbers and inadequate facilities, was not functioning fully.
Residents like Mrs. Adetomi Adebisi, bear the brunt. Her husband, the family's breadwinner, was involved in an accident on his way home two years ago when a metallic rod pierced his thigh.
The mother of four recounted the tragedy. "When I heard about the incident, he was already taken to the general hospital. I met the good Samaritans who had helped rush him there, and to our utmost surprise, none of the doctors or nurses were in sight. We searched, even if it was a nurse, but couldn't find any help, so we had to rush him to the Ondo General Hospital, which was almost an hour's journey and the nearest we could go to."
Unfortunately, he died despite the attention given at the Ondo hospital, and his wife, now a widow, was left with the burden of child raising and the financial stress incurred during his treatment.
"If only there were adequate staff in our own general hospital here, my husband would be nearby, and I wouldn't have to spend so much on long-distance travel every time. I couldn't help but wonder if things would have been different if there had been a doctor on duty that fateful day," she lamented.
Mrs. Adebisi's voice shook with emotion as she lamented the state of the hospital. She said she wasn't the only one suffering because of its shortcomings. She said the community had been plagued by the same problem for many years.
Olumide was a vibrant young man in his prime, full of life and energy. He worked as a motorcycle rider in the community until one fateful Tuesday night when armed robbers hit him with a stray bullet on his way back to Ifetedo along the Ife-Ondo expressway.
His friend, Adebowale, gave the gory tale: "We were both coming from the neighbouring town on his motorcycle when he was hit by a bullet in the hand. It was so sudden because we didn't know where it came from, and it was the sound that made us realize what was happening. We nearly had an accident in that process because he was the one riding the motorcycle while I was behind him. We had to wait for few minutes before rushing him on the same bike to the general hospital."
"On getting there, there were no doctors on duty except for a nurse who was ill-equipped to handle the critical situation. We realized that he needed urgent medical attention, so his younger brother, who was already with us, made frantic efforts to take him to Ondo General Hospital, but it was too late. He succumbed to his injuries on the way and died before he could receive the medical attention he so desperately needed."
Community elders speak
The Ekerin of the Ifetedo kingdom, High Chief Jameson Olowo, revealed that one of the most pressing challenges facing Ifetedo was the efficient operation of the Ifetedo General Hospital.
According to him, the doctors in the hospital were not providing adequate medical services to the community.
"The hospital only operated from Tuesdays to Thursdays, which is improper and inadequate for a government hospital, and it has left the community members to find alternative options for medical treatment; they (community members) travel for over 45 minutes to the Ondo General Hospital, which is located miles away.
"When we approached and questioned the doctors and the staff, they gave excuses that they live far away and also can't afford to come during the week and during weekends. Due to this, the chiefs and community leaders decided to provide accommodation for the doctor; at least if we have one person on standby, there can be some changes. We provided the accommodation and informed the doctor about it; he said he was going to move in, but as we speak, he's yet to move into the apartment, leaving the community with no other option but to keep waiting for the government's intervention," the septuagenarian chief disclosed.
He also revealed that several letters had been written to the 'government' to address the situation, but no response had been received. As a result, community members had to rely on the two primary healthcare centers in the community, which had their limits.
One of the community leaders, a retired principal of Ifetedo grammar school, Chief Akin Ajiboso, explained how the challenges faced at the general hospital have forced them to seek medical attention elsewhere.
"During one of our meetings at the peace and security committee of the local government, the issue was raised by the officer in charge of the Department of State Service (DSS), and the argument was that the state government needed to be informed and to post more workers in the hospital, but it was countered by the local government chairman, Hon. Mufutau Adegbite who mentioned that 18 staff members were posted to the hospital when it was rehabilitated. But at a given point in time, only one or two are available to cater to the medical attention of the citizens.
"Absenteeism by the workers is one of the major challenges the community is facing there. Also, if there were to be doctors' quarters, the staff wouldn't have reason to be shuffling between the hospital and their private residences. Also, the road to the hospital is nothing to write home about, especially during rainy seasons. Meanwhile, drainage has caused damage in the hospital compound; because of that, cars cannot be parked in the compound except outside. Cases requiring emergency medical attention are not good for a place like that," he said.
Primary health care centers
The community has two primary health care centers, which serve as clinics for the community members. But there is little medical service they can provide due to their limited facilities.
Elizabeth Ojo, the community health officer at Oke-Kija Primary Health Care Center, acknowledged that in most cases when patients beyond their capacities are brought to their center, they first refer them to the general hospital, and sometimes to the Ondo General Hospital or the Ife General Hospital.
"The only cases we take care of here are an anti-natal clinic, immunization, and outpatients, due to the limited resources we have. So far, we have not recorded any casualties in the health center, which runs 24/7."
At the second primary health care center, situated at Oke-Awonna, Akinsola Michael, the monitoring evaluation officer, said the center gives first aid treatment and referral notes if cases that are beyond them are brought.
"We have limited resources here, so there is little we can do from our end. So when cases like that come in, we used to refer them to Ife General Hospital for proper medical attention, but due to their inactivity, we now refer the patients to Ife General Hospital. And that would be after we have provided them with first-aid treatment."
A second visit
An UDEME reporter visited the Ifetedo General Hospital on a weekday to observe the state of affairs. Upon arrival, a woman, later identified as Mrs. Kafayat Tijani, was preparing to leave the premises with her young daughter, whose upper face was covered in plaster. He approached the woman to inquire about her visit, and she explained that they had come to the hospital to have the wound on her daughter's face cleaned and that the nurses had attended to her.
When asked if they had come to the hospital before, she replied affirmatively. "We had visited the hospital the previous week to receive treatment for my daughter's wound and returned for a follow-up visit. The day we first came was Wednesday, and we met only two nurses. While one of them attended to us, the other was handling and handing over the instruments, and we were told to come back in a week's time, which is why we are here today," she recounted.
As the reporter walked into the main building, the sound of people chatting was a welcome relief from the tense atmosphere that often characterizes hospitals. Approaching the reception desk, he is directed to the doctor's office, where two men sat in front of a desktop computer, surrounded by piles of documents. The first man, in his forties, seemed to be the senior doctor, while the second man looked to be in his late twenties. The reporter explained the purpose of the visit, hoping to get some insight into the workings of the hospital.
The senior doctor seemed hesitant to answer questions, but after a few moments of awkward silence, he finally responded, stating that he needed to "see a letter from the person for whom the reporter worked with before providing any information about the hospital". He refused to give his name or give direct the reporter to whom he could speak with.
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'Inadequate staff is hospital's bane' -- Chairman
Meanwhile, the local government chairman of Ife South, Mufu Adegbite, said the council is aware of the state of the hospital in Ifetedo and "has made attempts by writing letters on different occasions to bring the issue to the attention of the state government, but unfortunately, they have not received any response".
"One of the major problems the hospital is facing is the lack of adequate staff. The hospital had only one doctor, and when we approached him about the staff's attitudes towards the operation of the hospital, he responded that he is overwhelmed with work and requested a partner to work with so that they could rotate shifts instead of working every day."
The chairman further acknowledged that the doctor had been provided with accommodation by the community leaders through the king's influence, but had refused to move in.
"Despite the fact that they don't work on weekends, if you go to the hospital around 4 p.m. during the weekdays, you won't meet anyone there. They resume work between 9 and 10 a.m. and close by 4 p.m. It's as bad as that."
Government official reacts
The coordinating director for the Hospital Management Board, who prefers to be identified as Dr. Oni, said the government is aware of the hospital staff shortage but not of their mode of operations. He emphasized the problem of a shortage of staff in most general hospitals within Osun State and the government's attempt to recruit more staff.
"We are aware that the hospital is facing a significant challenge with limited human resources. The government is working to recruit more doctors and nurses to fill the vacant positions, but unfortunately, many healthcare professionals are leaving the country, which limits our options. While we understand that the hospital's operational standards may not be up to par, we are doing everything in our power to improve the situation.
"It's essential to remember that one doctor cannot run a hospital alone; they require support from other medical staff, such as nurses, to ensure smooth operations. Due to the current shortage of healthcare professionals, the medical staff may have been overworked, often working long shifts to meet the community's healthcare needs. We are committed to finding solutions to these issues to provide the best possible healthcare services to the community."
