As a result, a plea has been sent to the Federal Government for assistance, especially in the replacement of the health professionals in the hospital.
Fielding questions from newsmen at the hospital after monitoring the registration of staff by the Independent National Electoral Commission, the Medical Director of the FMC, Prof. Onyebuchi Azubuike, highlighted the power and emigration of health workers as the major challenges facing the centre.
The hospital setting, he said is “peculiar and is where 24-hour power is needed especially in neonatal intensive care unit where incubators must function 24 hours”.
“With this inconsistent public power supplies, it means we are running all our generators at the same time, and to use them means we use diesel. We use, on average, 10,000 litres every two weeks at about N850 per litre.
“Think about the maintenance of the generators, as well as paying the electricity bills that we did not even get the light for.
“But we are thinking out of the box and looking at other sources of power like the renewable energy that can work, like in theatres, laboratories and Intensive Care Units where air-conditioners are required.”
He said the centre is consulting with experts in that area to see how to achieve the 24-hour power needs of the centre such as solar that can power the air conditioners.
The experts, he said, included the Niger Delta Power Holding company, who could see how they could help at a reduced cost, and the federal ministry of power through the rural electrification at a reduced cost “so that we don’t transfer the costs to the patients. People are already suffering.
He said he had resisted transferring that expenses to the patients knowing that people were poor and could not access the increased high cost of healthcare.
He disclosed further challenges facing the centre to be the immigration of healthcare professionals.
“Most of our doctors and nurses are leaving to more advanced countries probably with better remuneration, and most of our consultants are leaving to Saudi Arabia.
“This is what managers of hospitals are facing. It is biting and choking”, he said and pleaded with the Federal Government to come to their rescue by making it easier, especially the process of f replacing the professionals that have left.
“Obviously, we have manpower challenges and it is becoming worse”, he said and placed the average cost of buying diesel, paying EEDC bills and generator maintenance at N30 million monthly.
Earlier after monitoring the INEC registration exercise in the center, the FMC Umuahia MD said having paid a courtesy call on Abia INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC and because the hospital is involved in life-saving services as well as the need to participate in the electoral process, the REC approved the hospital as a registration centre.
This he said will enable the hospital staff who are always busy to be able to vote.
