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Frustration Over Ondo State’s Deteriorating Healthcare Crisis
Ondo State in Nigeria has been facing a worsening health crisis, according to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The opposition party accused Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of doing little to improve the dire situation in medical facilities across the state since his tenure began 10 months ago.
According to Kennedy Peretei, the party’s publicity secretary, neighbouring states with better packages have been luring medical personnel away from Ondo, leaving the state with a dearth of doctors and health workers. This development is particularly disheartening given the state’s historical reputation as a medical tourism destination in the South West region.
In February this year, the Nigerian Medical Association served a seven-day notice to Aiyedatiwa, citing a worsening health crisis. This includes the decline of 128 resident doctors at the University of Medical Sciences University Teaching Hospital in Ondo to just 22 currently.
Furthermore, general hospitals in rural areas such as Iwaro-Oka, Ipe, Irele, and Idoani, which previously had a minimum of five doctors each, are now short-staffed with a single doctor on call per week. Frustration over this dire situation is compounded by reports of preventable deaths at these hospitals.
Reacting to these allegations, the State Information Director of the Lucky Aiyedatiwa Campaign Organisation Foot Soldiers Independent Council, Kayode Fasua, labelled them “fabricated lies.” However, he conceded that Ondo State was not the only state affected by a brain drain in the healthcare sector, acknowledging that recruitment efforts were underway to hire more medical workers.
Meanwhile, the Ondo State government has attributed its struggles in the health sector to national issues. Despite acknowledging the challenges, the state maintains that an enhanced healthcare scheme, rolled out in the state a few months ago, is a vital step towards improvement.
Overall, the plight of the healthcare sector in Ondo State has become a worrying issue, particularly for its residents who depend on healthcare facilities to get the care they need.
