The Correspondents Chapel of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Delta State has condemned the shutdown of Ughelli Central Hospital, in the State over Covid-19 scare.
The Union in a communiqué issued on Tuesday after its statutory congress, maintained that the State government had no medical and moral justification for shutting down some departments of the hospital without providing alternative access to medicare for patients using the hospital.
The communiqué which was signed by the Chapel’s Acting Chairman, Comrade Sunday Apah and its Secretary, Comrade Matthias Ogbagah, read thus: “We want to observe with great displeasure the sudden shutting down of important departments of the Ughelli Central Hospital by its management.
“The development which has led to several deaths within Ughelli and environs in the past few days due to lack of access to medical care by the victims, has resulted in growing concerns by most residents including this union.
“Last weekend, a POS operator was shot in Ekiugbo, Ughelli and died of excessive bleeding after failing to secure medical attention as he was rejected in the private hospital he was rushed to due to the closure of the central hospital.
“We are not against the state’s government pro-activeness in trying to curtail the spread of the Coronavirus in the state, but sometimes our government seems to be hasty in making certain decisions. You don’t just close a whole central hospital without providing alternative access to Medicare. Doing so will lead to further deaths and endangerment of the lives of the public.
“This is because issues of health challenges are not things that could be postponed. Any little sickness can kill if not properly diagnosed and treated on time. So shutting down the hospital completely is not in the health interest of the public.
“It must also be noted that many of these persons being denied medicare are subscribers of the Delta State Health Insurance Scheme, and are still paying their subscriptions till date despite the Covid-19 scare as its being deducted from source.
“The congress also berated the Delta State Government for her failure to address the growing insecurity in the state despite several boasts it made in recent times.
“Congress, therefore, called on the state government to live up to its responsibilities by be up and doing in fulfilling its primary democratic responsibilities to citizens of the state which is security of lives and properties”, the chapel said.