By Samuel Olusegun Precious
Barely eight months after its grand commissioning, the Ahoada Zonal Hospital is currently teetering on the brink of collapse due to severe infrastructural decay, prompting urgent calls for state intervention.
The President General of the Orashi National Congress (ONC), Ambassador Comrade Emeni Ibe, JP, AP, issued a passionate appeal to the Rivers State Government following an on-the-spot assessment of the facility, revealing shocking operational conditions that threaten healthcare delivery for millions across the Orashi region and neighboring communities.
During his visit, Amb. Ibe uncovered a compound crisis of power outages, water scarcity, and inadequate equipment, leaving healthcare workers struggling under hazardous conditions:
He said the hospital currently operates without a public power supply, while solar panels were previously installed, Amb. Ibe noted that the ongoing rainy season has severely hampered sunlight availability, leaving inverters uncharged.
Hospital staff alleged that medical personnel have been forced to rely on phone flashlights and daylight from open windows to illuminate surgical procedures.
Consequently, patients and staff are forced to fetch water from external sources or a well within the hospital compound. Alarmingly, with only about six doctors currently stationed at the hospital, surgeons and nurses must use well water to wash up before and after medical surgeries.
He further claimed that the surgical department lacks essential modern sterilization equipment, “staff members have been forced to resort to manual sterilization techniques”, a practice Amb. Ibe described as dangerously unhygienic for patients.
Disturbed by the findings, the ONC leadership called on Dr. Bright Ogbondah, the Chief Medical Director of the Rivers State Hospitals Management Board, to immediately conduct a personal assessment of the facility and deploy rapid solutions to restore stable electricity and clean, potable water.
“The Ahoada Zonal Hospital was commissioned with so much hope. We cannot allow it to fail our people because of basic amenities like power and water. The government must act now,” Amb. Ibe stated.
While the ONC reaffirmed its continued support for Governor Sir Siminalayi Fubara’s broader healthcare agenda, the group insisted that immediate, concrete action is required to salvage the multi-million-naira facility before its critical services grind to a complete halt.
