Power shortages witnessed across University College Hospital (UCH) have led some medical students from the University of Ibadan to protest at the meeting venue between the Federal Government (FG) and the hospital management.
The medical students stormed the meeting ground on Monday, demanding immediate power restoration over the 100-day total blackout at the hospital.
The meeting between the FG and UCH management was convened by Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu to find out the problem of power outage at the institution.
Samson Samuel, a former UI students’ union president, led the group of protesters who expressed their grievance over the yet-to-be-rectified power disruption at the health facility.
Samuel at the protest ground highlighted the implications for their academic and clinical activities.
Among their requests, they asked the Minister of Power to make timeline provisions for the implementation of the 50 per cent electricity tariff discount pledged by the FG across tertiary hospitals.
In the Healthwise report, a student identified as Tola said, “We are here today to express our displeasure and frustration over the over 100 days of electricity and darkness at the University College Hospital, Ibadan.
“As medical students, we rely heavily on electricity to power our equipment and facilities, but the prolonged power outage has made it impossible for us to carry out our academic and clinical activities effectively.
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Revealing their plight, the medical students said the power disruption has led to the cancellation of several surgeries and other critical medical procedures.
“The power outage has not only affected our academic activities, but it has also had a negative impact on the hospital’s services,” Tobi, another student, disclosed.
“Surgeries and other critical medical procedures have been cancelled due to the lack of electricity, which has put the lives of patients at risk.”
In their numbers, the protester vowed to remain in the vicinity until the minister of power explained the delay in the implementation of the electricity tariff discount; meanwhile, efforts to calm the angry student down remained fruitless.
Tobi shared their determination in getting responses for their demands.
Although the total blackout experience for over 100-day has been linked to the health facility’s N200 million electricity debt.
It was revealed that the health facility depends on a generator as an alternative power provider since the prolonged disconnection from the national grid by the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) leads to insufficiency.
Also as the hospital continue to experience power outage, the revenue bears the burns, as patients has seek to find services in other hospital located within the state.
The protest by the medical students is evident of frustration and need for immediate attention in the university community.
