Benue State University Teaching Hospital Grasping for Fresh Air

By

Hangeior Degarr

Thursday 24^th November 2017, the Benue State government through the commissioner of health and human services Dr. Cecilia Ojabo confirmed a case of Monkey pox disease. This was after a series of tests at the Benue State University Teaching Hospital, Makurdi (BSUTH) and confirmation of sample tests carried out at the World Health Organisation regional laboratory in Senegal. The patient and the person whom she had close contact with were put in an isolated unit at the hospital where they are been treated.  Just like other tertiary health institutions in Nigeria, BSUTH has remained at the forefront of monitoring emergent health challenges within Benue state and neighbouring states. Evidently, it remains the leading tertiary institution within and around the Benue environment. Like its sister institution, the famous Benue State University, Makurdi, it remained the first and only State own teaching hospital attached to a state run university in the whole of Northern Nigeria.

The journey of BSUTH began in 2003. The then governor, now senator George Akume established it as a requirement for the newly introduced College of Health Sciences at the Benue State University. It was meant to aid practical teaching and research for the medical students at the university. Though the hospital was to run separately, it was and still remains a compulsory requirement for graduation of medical doctors in BSU. The journey for BSUTH has not been a smooth one.  The hospital has to pass through three different political administrations of three different governors, George Akume, Gabriel Suswam and Samuel Ortom spanning over 12 years before it got accredited to enable the graduation of the first set of doctor for the university.

During this time of struggle, BSUTH went through different contractors. The first was Gitto Construzioni Generali Nigeria Ltd. It got the initial construction contract under George Akume. That administration was unable to complete the construction of the hospital until it handed over to Gabriel Suswam in 2007. When Suswam took over, his administration was unable to reconcile the original contract sum with Gitto Construzioni Generali Nigeria Ltd. This led to that administration terminating the contract. It was re awarded to another construction company, this time to Dantata and Sawoe Construction Company Nigeria Ltd. Dantata eventually completed the construction work and handed over the project to the Benue state government.

            BSUTH began formal clinical activities in 2012. With this, it was expected that relief will come the way of thousand of Benue indigenes who most time had to travel to Jos and Enugu (then the closest teaching hospitals) on referral cases. Indeed BSUTH has recorded tremendous success not only as a training institution for medical practitioners but as a health facility for patients. Armed with equipment such as dialysis centre for renal disease as well as CT scanners, as well as other medical equipment and experienced personnel to handle them, the teaching hospital got full accreditation by the Nigeria Medical and Dental Council in 2015.  That aided the graduation of the first set of Medical doctors at the Benue State University, who had stagnated for over 12 years.

During the infamous Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014 which also affected Nigeria, BSUTH was put on high alert to handle any such case should it occur. Again the outbreak of Lasa fever across Nigeria also saw BSUTH been put on red alert to receive and handle any such case. The hospital has recorded huge success in handling emergency cases both for everyday people and public figures alike. For example, just last year the then serving Secretary to the State Government, Targema Takem was rushed to the hospital after collapsing. It was at BSUTH that he was revived and stabilised. A few months later a wife of an aide to the governor, Mrs Mlumun Adyorough was stabilised and treated for multiple gun wounds when her husband, the principal Special Assistant on Knowledge Economy and Investment to the Benue State Governor was attacked and killed. Governor Samuel Ortom paid a visit to BSUTH, to see the wife of his slained aid, Tavershima Adyorogh Governor Ortom in company of his SSG Professor Tony Ijohor, Chief of Staff, Hon. Terwase Orbunde, Commissioner for Health, Dr. Cecilia Ojabo, that of works and Transport, Engr. Emmanuel Manger and other top Government officials was received by the Chief Medical Director of the Hospital, Professor Terrumun Swende. During the visit, the governor directed the immediate upgrading of critical areas of facilities at the teaching hospital. He called on the Commissioner for Health & Human Services, Dr. Mrs. Cecilia Ojabo, and that of Works & Transport, Engineer Emmanuel Manger, to immediately present a memo to that effect in order to give priority attention to the hospital. He commended the management of the hospital for standing by the vision of the hospital in saving lives and pointed out that it was at the same hospital that the former Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Targema Takema was revived back to life and still alive today, and appreciated the effort of the hospital staff for being equal to the task, and further promised to continually support the hospital.

The governor’s directive became necessary because within just a few years of operation, a lot of the equipment had either broken down completely or simply inadequate to cater for the ever increasing number of patients at the hospital. For example, water supply to wards has since cut. Relatives of patients have to fetch water from the ground tanks to take to patients at the third floor of the medical and amenity wards. Also, the hospital for several months has been running on only one scanner for its outpatient department. This means that patients have to wait for several hours or even days in order to have access to the facility. Other medical consumables such as drugs and lab tests are also lacking. Patients are routinely directed to get some drugs and tests done outside the hospital before returning to continue treatment, thus making the hospital look like a mere consulting institution.

Apart from the medical related facilities, other issues such as poor security architecture have hampered smooth operation. The hospital has no security cameras installed to enhance the security of staff and patients. This was manifested on the 25^th of July, 2017 when an unidentified person disguised as a patient’s relative, entered the hospital and stole some electronic gadgets belonging to a staff and a patient of the hospital. Frantic efforts to apprehend the perpetrator yielded no result.

Operational difficulties at BSUTH have manifested in inadequate staff and poor attitude to work. The medical record unit, which is the first point of call for any patient is bedeviled with delays. These delays are occasioned by staff that most time appears not to have a clear idea of how to quickly attend to patients and to be polite as well. The inexcusable poor attitude of health workers at BSUTH is traceable to their pattern of recruitment. Apart from the initial intake of staff at the beginning in 2012 which was made public, the hospital has never made known publicly its employment process. This gives room for nepotism thus sacrificing competence in the selection of staff. Cases of missing patients’ medical folders abound with no one to clearly address them. The hospital in 2015 experimented on the use of electronic medical record keeping. This has the potential to hasten up the process of accessing patient’s record and reducing the incidents of missing records. Surprisingly however, the idea was abruptly abounded soon after it was commenced. Thus, returning to the old torturing manual process.

Like most of Nigeria’s health sector, BSUTH has witness more strike than it can ever remember. At the time of putting this piece together, medical doctors had just resume duties after over two months strike over issues of welfare while other workers in the hospital are still on strike. This means that just skeletal and essential medical services are offer to the public. Rewind to 2012 when BSUTH began operations, it provided hope for improved medical care services to Benue people. That hope is still grasping for fresh air.