By Chioma Obinna

National Hospital, Abuja, NHA, the once pride of the nation, is in tatters.

Courtesy of poor funding, inadequate staffing and frequent strikes by staff, you do not need an expert to tell that the hospital is  gasping for breaths.

The NHA was established by the wife of former Head of State, General Sani  Abacha, as family support facility for women and children  in 1997 before it was taken over in 1999 by the Federal Government.

The rot  in the hospital  has attracted the attention of some members of the House of Representatives who are  calling for an urgent restructuring, refinancing and repositioning of the NHA  for it to survive.

Sources close to the hospital  said the situation is taking  a  toll on patients, leading to  deaths on daily basis.

The supposedly flagship referral hospital in the country is  beset  by  deteriorating physical infrastructures and poor staff  welfare. Other problems  include  obsolete  medical facilities.

Worst  hit  are cancer patients.  Many of the patients have  had  to wait endlessly for treatment while others who could afford  it go to  Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, among others,  for treatment.  A patient, who  spoke to  Sunday Vanguard  on condition of anonymity said one of the radio therapy machines  used for the treatment of cancer, which should have been upgraded after seven years, is  still in use 14 years after.

It was learnt that the  House of Representatives is in the process of probing the rot in the hospital while  some members of the House are calling for  urgent “restructuring, refinancing and repositioning of the hospital for it to survive.”

A source  disclosed that  a member of the House, Alhaji Muhammadu Sani Abdu, tabled the pathetic plight of the nation’s referral hospital and health service provider  in  a motion on the floor of the House  as “a matter of urgent national  importance”.

The source revealed that  Abdu  is asking the parliament to investigate the  decay which the tertiary healthcare centre of reference has fallen  into over the years.

He said  visitors  are greeted  by offensive stench from the morgue and emergency units of the hospital “owing to the failure of the cooling equipment in the place and poor sanitation”.

He went on: “Lack of bed space, poor stocking of medical consumables among others are constant problems associated with the hospital.

“The rate at which patients die in the hospital is becoming very alarming and, therefore, calls  for a proper investigation of the status and quality of the services offered by National Hospital as a tertiary referral health institution in the country.”

The lawmaker, explained that he  once had a  friend who was admitted for treatment  in the hospital which resulted to frequent visits. This therefore gave him the opportunity to observe the  happenings in the NHA  at close quarters, thus noticing  the lapses in the operation.

He said the lack of equipment to work has brought so much pressure on  consultants, resident doctors, nurses and non-medical personnel who are “ disinterested in the welfare of their patients”.

“Staff  of  the hospital are prone to resorting to industrial actions to press home their grievances,” he noted.

“The hospital was doing well and  consultants, resident doctors, nurses and other personnel were well taken care of, but, over the years, the hospital has  deteriorated  in terms of  structure and services which  resulted in the exit of some of its best hands, while those who are left are dissatisfied and looking out for better places to go.”

He requested the House Committee on Health to probe the situation.

Some members of the House, who also  contributed to the debate on the motion,  demanded that a law should be passed to make it mandatory for all public office holders to obtain their healthcare needs within the country, saying this will make our leaders pay adequate attention to health facilities.

“Our own hospital are left to suffer negligence, decay and mismanagement because our elected and appointed public officers travel abroad for healthcare services at the slightest sign of health discomfort, resulting in their not caring about the status of  healthcare services in Nigeria,” one of them said.

Speaker of the House, Hon. Yakubu Dagora, referred the matter to the House Committee on Health to look into the matter.

Sunday Vanguard  visited NHA and spoke with patients and health attendants, former Board members as well as the medical and non-medical staff.

The management  was not forth coming  to our  enquiries. But the visit confirmed that patients at the NHA  are faced with  problems  ranging from dilapidated beds to  lack of bed space  for patients  on admission.

Others include  broken down diagnostic equipment and treatment machines, lack  of drugs in the pharmacy and  non-chalant attitude of  nurses and resident doctors.

An oncology patient  told  our correspondent that since 2015, it is only at the NHA  that cancer patients  could get radiation treatment in the country  and that this facility has gone  into disuse due to inadequate maintenance.

When contacted, Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. J.A.F Momoh, declined comments, saying he could not speak without  the permission of the  Minister of Health.

Efforts to get to the Minister of State for Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, on phone, proved abortive.

But the Health Minister, Prof Isaac Adewole, in a  response to the text message sent to his telephone line, was initially surprised at the questions put to him and asked the reporter to state  what the experiences were at the hospital.

On getting the details,   the minister promised to look into the problems. “We are currently working on a plan to commence the upgrade of seven facilities including NHA this year.”