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Corruption In Delta State Healthcare: Pregnant Women Pays Hospital Staff For Anti-Natal

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The goodwill of the Delta State government towards ensuring that pregnant women, nursing mothers and children between age zero to five years gets free medical health care has received setbacks at the Okowe Central hospital, Asaba.

These programmes were introduced by the administration of the immediate past government of Dr. Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan in the general hospitals across the state to carter for the health needs of pregnant women, nursing mothers and children under age zero to five years.

Okwe Central hospital is one of the health institutions in the state that was mandated to give such free medical healthcare but staff of the hospital are presently been induced and are attending to people with moneybags and those that have their friends, relations or high connections in the hospital instead of giving free medical care to everyone in need of it

The Okwe Central hospital, located along the Asaba-Onitsha Express Way provides free anti-natal care to newly pregnant women (those who conceived for the first time) on Mondays while as from second pregnancies are attended to on Tuesdays and issues cards for anti-natal every Thursdays but it was gathered that the staff collects money from pregnant women on Wednesday to enlist them for Thursday’s registration (collection of cards).

Our correspondent who visited the hospital on fact finding mission, arrived the hospital at about 5:00 am Thursday morning, met the anti-natal unit, where data are being recorded filled to the brim with women while those who could not find space for themselves within the unit were sitting outside.

To this reporter’s astonishment, an elderly lady, light in complexion was attending to the women with a torchlight as there was no power supply from the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) nor from generating set, known as generator, calling the names written on a paper, while some were present, others were absent, whereas, those women seated non were called.

It was reliably gathered that those whose names were written were those who were able to induce the staff with monies the previous day between N1, 500 and above and those who have long legs (Wednesday evening between 6:00 and 7:00 pm) while those who have no money to pay nor knew anyone in the hospital nor have any connection were seated hoping on God to help them.

While a young girl on the registration table was busy insulting the women who dare to ask questions or those who came late, a woman said, “This is unfair, so if you don’t have anybody in this hospital to write your name, you will not be attended to”.

Another woman who disclosed that her husband brought her to the hospital, said, “My husband brought me here at 4:00 am. When I went to them at the table to write my name down, I was told that they have finished writing manes”, about past 6 O’ clock, she was still waiting for her name to be written.

Also, another woman said, Thursday 2nd June 2016 was her fourth time she has come without successfully registering.

While our correspondent was still gazing astonish, an elderly man with grey hair who was simply identified as Atah, the man, our correspondent learnt is a cleaner as he was sited tiding the environment and removing dirt came in with a young woman to the elderly woman at the table.

Hear the conversation: “Atah, this person na still your candidate? Atah: Yes. Atah quickly pointed at another woman. “But you tell me say na only two candidates you get today, why you come dey point another person? Atah drew her attention to the list. See her name here now, na you write the name”, the old man told her.

A man, also light in complexion who was at the table whom our correspondent approached outside on the development after abusing a woman, said “that is how it is done, if they want them to attend to them, they should come by next week. If not, today is gone, no one will attend to them today again. Because of the influx of people from across the bridge, they attend to only 50 persons every Thursday”, he revealed.

A woman who said she came from Abuja, lambasted the staff over their unruly attitude and corrupt lives said, “Every free thing is always like this. But the hospital where I have been registering in at Abuja, is not like this”.

A staff of the hospital who later brought in some cards took them back due to the rush and later brought in one that she gave to her choice candidate and asked the rest of them to leave till the following week.

At 7:20am when our correspondent left the hospital, the women were still loitering around hoping to be attended to while some who could not wait left in anger.

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