By Yemi Adeleye
Lagos – The Lagos State House of Assembly Committee on Health Services on Friday appealed to the Eko Electricity Distribution Company and Ikeja Electric Plc to place priority on public hospitals and healthcare centres, in order to save more lives.
The Chairman of the Committee, Mr Segun Olulade, made the plea while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) during the committee’s oversight tour to the Mushin General Hospital on Friday.
NAN reports that the committee commenced its oversight visits to the state’s General Hospitals and Primary Health Centres (PHCs) on Feb. 3.
Olulade, who led another member of the committee, Mr Jude Idimogu, to various sections of the hospital, inquired from patients their assessment of the healthcare services being rendered to them.
The chairman, who described the lives of people as “irredeemable,” said that more lives would be safe if public healthcare centres had regular supply of power.
According to him, the committee observes that the recurrent challenge of power supply in its oversight visit to hospitals and PHCs, saying that it has either increased expenses or hampered effective service delivery.
“Power is critical to all sectors, but as a matter of fact, it is more needed in our hospitals because nothing can be equated with the life of any person.
“We want to plead with the Eko Disco and Ikeja electric to give special attention to our hospitals.
“The huge amount that could have been used to provide essential drugs and facilities for the patients are being used to buy diesel to power plants.”
Olulade said that most hospitals, which spent about N3 million monthly on diesel, were still billed above N300, 000 electricity bills monthly, even without adequate supply.
Earlier, Dr (Mrs) Grace Osisanya, the Medical Director, Mushin General Hospital, told the lawmakers that the hospital spent nothing less than N2.4 million monthly on diesel alone.
Osisanya said: “We would want you to help us prevail on Eko Electric to remember this hospital. We have not had power supply in the last one year. We run everything with diesel and this gulps about N600, 000 weekly.
“In spite of this, we still receive electricity bills of above N200, 000 monthly.”
The committee visited several PHCs in the council area.
