Emmanuel Hospital is located at Eket Local Government area
of Akwa Ibom State. The hospital is one of the few general hospitals in the
Country with a specialized care centre for persons with mental health
challenges.
At a glance, one is tempted to dismiss the facility as one
without any human occupation, due to the dilapidated nature of its premises,
but a closer look will reveal not just the fact that at least 40 patients are
housed in the facility, but also shocking details of the total neglect of the
facility and its occupants.
The Out Patients Department (OPD) which acts as the reception
for most medical facilities is in a state that can best be described as chaotic.
The concrete floor had long broken down and the roof leaks when it rains. Two wooden
benches are kept facing a table and a chair for the nurse on duty. The environment
is bushy and unkempt.
The wards have strong metallic doors, obviously to keep the
patients from escaping. The windows are without mosquito nets and the wooden windows
are opened only in the day time. The ward has a strong smell and a closer look
at the ward reveals even more heart breaking details. The wards have NO SINGLE
BED in them. Patients are made to sleep on MATS. Plastic buckets are lined up
in front of the room and when asked what they are used for, the nurse on duty
said patients defecate in them as THERE ARE NO TOILETS! The only pit toilet
available is about 100 meters from the wards and patients cannot be made to use
them. The nurse further revealed that a staff goes around once a day to empty
the poop.
The only recreational facility in the hospital is a 14 inches’
sharp television donated by a charity organisation in 2001. The hospital also
has a borehole facility that provides water, a project that was undertaken by
Rotary club. Speaking with our reporter, a medical consultant who pleaded anonymity
said effort to get the state government and other donor agencies to ameliorate the
situation has proved abortive.
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