ALLEGATIONS AGAINST UPTH; NOT ONLY MISLEADING AND LIES, BUT AN ACT CAPABLE OF CAUSING FURTHER DEATH IN THE SOCIETY.

The Initiative for Transparent Strategy and Good Leadership has conducted a thorough investigation into the allegations that because of the power outage in the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, that over fourteen (14) children died and several patients billed for operations were cancelled, HENCE PATIENTS WERE TRANSFERRED TO PRIVATE HOSPITALS FOR SURGICAL OPERATIONS. The said story is not only misleading and lie, but is capable of causing further death knowing that the said UPTH is a place that saves lives medically.

When we visited the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, we were conducted round the wards and departments by the Public Relation Officer to see things for ourself as we visited the following departments and Units; 1. Internal medicine, 2. Obstetrics & Gynaecology (O&G), 3. Orthopaedics, 4. Psychiatrics, 5. Surgery, 6. Paediatric, 7. Accident & Emergency, 8. GOPD, 9. Eye Clinic, 10. SCBU, 11. Intensive Care Unit, 12. Radiology, Etc and we noticed as follows;

1. That truly, there was power outage (PHEDC light) in the hospital because of the faulty transformer which lasted for about one week and six days and was restored, yet the hospital has standby generators that gives power 12hours daily.

2. That almost all the departments, have its own generator including four other generators (two 1000kva CAT, one 100kva and one 500kva standby generators) that power's the entire hospital.

3. That all surgeries fixed during the pendency of the PHEDC POWER OUTAGE were done without cancellation because the surgery department, powered its standby generator during the surgery and whenever there was no PHEDC LIGHT AND WHEN THE HOSPITAL HAS NOT PUT ON THE GENERATOR THAT POWER'S THE ENTIRE HOSPITAL, THE SURGERY DEPARTMENT AND OTHERS, USUALLY PUT ON THEIR OWN GENERATORS.

4. That nobody died in the hospital with respect to the PHEDC OUTAGE in all the departments wards including the surgery and Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU).

5. That the Radiology Department is powered 24hours because of the MRI Machine that cost over #500,000,000.00 which is the best in West Africa and other scanning machines.

6. That even on the day we visited the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, several surgical operations took place with the help of the standby generator powering the entire hospital.

As a responsible NGO, saddled with the issues concerning good governance, we have no option than to conduct an independent accessment of the activities going on in UPTH as it involves human lives and to verify the veracity in the allegations that patients have been transferred to private hospitals and several children have died as a result of power failure, we were convinced that the allegations by mischief makers is not only misleading and lies, but is capable of causing further death if the public lose confidence in the UPTH whose primary responsibility is to save life medically knowing that majority of those whose relatives are sick, can not afford to pay high bills associated to private hospitals. What the mischief makers intend to achieve, is only known to them.

In our further investigation, we were made to understand, that majority of those mischief makers are staff who want to divert patients to private hospitals for economic gains, thinking that using the power outage as an excuse, is reasonable enough to cause fear in patients and their relatives from going to UPTH and alternate to private hospitals and the rest are those who want to takeover the management affairs of the UPTH.

Because of the sensitive nature of the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, we have resolved as follows:

1. That any information that is misleading about any hospital not limiting to only UPTH, must be proved by those who raise the allegations because we will petition whomever that is involved including media houses who publish without confirmation.

2. That the mischief makers are warned from further painting UPTH BLACK having regards to the fact that its primary responsibility is to save life medically because we will stop at nothing in making sure that regulating government agencies must call them for questioning.

Our major concern, is that the mischief makers have refused to look into the danger of painting UPTH BLACK in the eyes of the public as an institution saddled with the responsibility to save lives medically.

We, hereby, urge the public to disregard the information against UPTH from mischief makers.

Alfred Udodiri,
Publicity Secretary.
1/07/2022.

Nonsense!! Someone sent a message to Nigeria Info FM Port Harcourt that his sister who was scheduled to have a surgery in the hospital died because of lack of power supply.