October 20, 2015 : Samson Folarin

Human wastes have taken over the premises of the Gbagada General Hospital, Gbagada, Lagos State.

A large number of people at the facility told PUNCH Metro that the development posed health risks to residents of the area, patients and visitors.

During a two-week observation by PUNCH Metro, it was discovered that pregnant women, patients and visitors to the hospital ease themselves on the premises of the hospital.

Some of the patients and visitors, who spoke with our correspondent, blamed the situation on the hospital management’s failure to provide toilets.

They lamented that if nothing was done to address the challenge on time, an epidemic could break out.

A visitor, Mrs. Tolulope Adeniyi, said she came to the hospital to look after a sick relative who was on admission in the hospital.

She said she had been going to a bush close to the Combined Clinics and Ward to ease herself since arriving at the hospital.

She said, “I have been here for more than three days now. Each time I have to defecate, I go to the bush to do that. Initially, I was reluctant to do it, but I don’t have any other option.

“Sometimes, I stepped on the faeces of other people and the smell in that place is horrible. But what I do is to drop my own, and cover it up with tissue paper before leaving.”

Another visitor, Mrs. Joke Ogungbile, explained that she always left the hospital for a relative’s house to answer the call of nature.

“If one is not careful, one could get infected in this place. Whenever I am pressed, I always go to a relative’s house. After I am done, I return to the hospital to watch over my relative,” she said.

But another visitor, Gbemisola Areogun, said she tried to moderate her feeding to avoid having any reason to ease herself.

Areogun, whose daughter-in-law had been in the labour room for two days, said, “I try to moderate the way I eat here so as to avoid being pressed and wanting to go to the toilet. There is no toilet here and I have to be with my son’s wife. I can’t imagine using the bush.”

Our correspondent discovered that the situation became inevitable as the only public toilet that was supposed to serve the hospital’s visitors, had been closed down for months.

Many new visitors, who were turned back at the entrance of the toilet, were observed by our correspondent peeing in its surroundings.

Others went to a corner at the back of the female ward, where they defecated.

Our correspondent saw different moulds of human wastes in the area, some of which were covered with leaves and tissue paper.

A man was seen by our correspondent urinating on the wall of the hospital’s female ward.

A child was also seen defecating at the waiting section of the ward in broad daylight.

When our correspondent asked a nurse for a place to defecate, he was directed to the bush.

The nurse said, “You are a man now, and you should not be ashamed to use the bush. Just try to cover yourself up with leaves and stay some distance away. We used to have a public toilet, but because people were always soiling the place, it was shut.”

Our correspondent approached another nurse, who advised him to go to the Emergency and Surgical ward and use the male patients’ toilet.

A male doctor at the ward directed our correspondent to a small room beside the doctors’ waiting room, which served as the patients’ toilet.

Our correspondent observed that the flush handle had broken down, and the zinc reeks of fermented urine, while the floor was littered with tissue paper.

There was however, a bucket with a bowl, under a leaking tap.

The choking smell did not make PUNCH Metro last beyond two minutes in the toilet.

However, some workers at the hospital were spotted by our correspondent using an uncompleted building.

Our correspondent learnt that the unroofed building was an abandoned project which was supposed to serve as a toilet facility.

A female patient, Ojo Busola, described the condition of the only two toilets in the maternity ward as terrible.

While claiming never to have soiled the hospital environment, she said lack of water sometimes left her discouraged in the toilet.

She said, “There are only two toilets in the maternity ward and the lightening system is faulty. So, whenever we go there, especially in the evening, we use torches. Sometimes you get there and there is no water. The toilet in the labour room is the only one in good condition.”

“The lack of water sometimes delays the time babies are cleaned up. There was a day that babies could not bath throughout that day because there was no water. So, it is not just a problem with toilet facilities, water is also included,” she said.

The World Health Organisation in its publication on Hospital Hygiene and Waste Infection said people could become infected with diseases from a dirty hospital environment.

It said, “In a health-care facility, the sources of infection and of the preceding contamination may be the personnel, the patients, or the inanimate environment. The hospital environment can be contaminated with pathogens.

“Nosocomial infections – known also as hospital-acquired infections, hospital-associated infections, and hospital infections– are infections that are not present in the patient at the time of admission to hospital, but develop during the course of the stay in the hospital.”

It added that patients with underlying disease, newborn babies, and the elderly, had less resistance and could develop an infection after contamination.”

A senior official in the state’s Ministry of Health, Dr. Adegoriola Longe, told our correspondent that the visitors’ toilet was built by the management of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital.

“As a background, please note that we have toilets that are for the public. Some of the facilities were formerly being handled by LASUTH, but were later handed over to the Gbagada General Hospital,” he said.

The Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Ajibola Ishola, said the hospital’s toilet was under repairs.

He said visitors were allowed access to other toilets in the hospital.

He said, “The hospital toilet is not shut down. The one there is filled quickly and the fault detected is under repair. Patients and relations are allowed access to the multiple toilets within the buildings.”


Cc: Lalastcilala

http://www.punchng.com/news/faeces-take-over-premises-of-lagos-general-hospital/

smh

Gov. Akinwumi Ambode, please do something before we start hearing stories that touches the heart.

na wa o

Firefire:
Gov. Akinwumi Ambode, please do something before we start hearing stories that touches the heart.

Can a man give what he does NOT have



www.nairaland.com/attachments/2108383_ambode_jpegf3d9e2187120804fb9995e3c58753962

it is only in Nigeria where u enter a hospital healthy, yet come out sick

SosaMontana:
Not surprised though since Southwest is full of animals and Nigeria is a ZOO
Animals do what they like

Yorobastards been dirty since 250 B.C

you can quote but i don't respond or treat animal cases

I am no animal doctor

Bro. U are sick!

Just here to read comments oo

And some people will come here and call Lagos "developed"

No part of Nigeria is developed! For all I care, Lagos is on par with the baddest village on the hills of Taraba State!

They should learn from Anambra state with the cleanest and well managed hospitals. Run by churches. Hope my state learn from them too.

Faeces every were in southwest streets,hospitals etc. Fasces warnings that was the first warning note Gov Ayo Fayose Issued to Ekiti indigenes after his swearing in

anonimi:


Can a man give what he does NOT have



www.nairaland.com/attachments/2108383_ambode_jpegf3d9e2187120804fb9995e3c58753962

Ambode is hardly even the case here, in my humble opinion.

For a man like Fashola - who was in charge of Lagos for 8 solid years - to have his so called legacy deteriorate and totally get wiped out in less than 5 months after leaving office, it clearly shows that he actually made no CONCRETE investments in those so-called sectors he claimed to have 'revolutionalized'.

He built no solid institutions, and made no real change. He made no efforts to unbundle the system and make hospitals under his control strong enough.
This was the same Gbagada Hospital one of his lackeys posted glossy pictures about a few years ago, that showed Fashola commissioning the place and posing for some more photos with his 800 cameramen.

When we assess things properly, we shall see that Fashola's so-called works were only on face value, and as a result, only transient.
The man simply ran a government of propaganda, noise, self-adulation and lies.
He built no institutions but propaganda, doing the works of an L.G.A. chairman (boreholes, street sanitation) and having his butt-lickers come here to showcase their gullibility.

Lalasticlala, shey make we offer you palm wine with two plates of ashy (ashewos) before you move this thread to promise land ni?

AMBODE— WE ARE STILL COMING

APC not ready to clean Lagos

http://www./2015/10/apc-not-ready-to-rule-nigeria-adebanjo.html?m=1

francizy:
Lalasticlala, shey make we offer you palm wine with two plates of ashy (ashewos) before you move this thread to promise land ni?

Last night, A thread about a man who was defecating at the third mainland bridge made front page, Now you want this one to also make front page. Do you want them to call Lagos "Shit_/faeces" land??

APC and FEACES.

Like BREAD and BUTTER..

I wonder what the CMD of the general Hospital does on a day to day basis

The CMD is directly in charge of the facility

If the governor starts inspecting broken toilets,those saying he shld do something abt it will be the ones saying it means he is idle

Commissioners have been inaugurated

IMO,jide idris should be the one on his toes in this case

I M H O

In yoruba land, toilet is a taboo.

They answer the call of nature in the most natural way..

SeverusSnape:



Last night, A thread about a man who was defecating at the third mainland bridge made front page, Now you want this one to also make front page. Do you want them to call Lagos "Shit_/faeces" land??

Laugh wan finish me for here mehn! I hope them doctors no dey carry nylon go load am inside their offices then do short put via window sha!!

When improper hygiene related diseases starts spreading right in our hospitals, the visitors unconsciously becoming the next set of patients, doctors make more money. Sarcastic and pathetic

Ofe mmanu and dorti...na wah

A friend of mine who served in ibadan gave me a gist of how she was almost hit on d face by a flying shotput on her way to cds .. But for d strap of her snickers which was loose and as she bent to adjust it .. A black nylon bag flew past her just above her head..

Na so she for don get mary-kay shit as foundation dat morning ..

It is only an ofe mmanu dat would shiit, wipe arse with handkerchief, pocket d hanki and still use it to blow dem nose...

If ofe mmanu mess for hia eh..
Buhari go resign . #no-offence-intended

As long as u re in Lagos, shiting is allowed.

The toilet was closed because it was messed up while messing up the environment was d best option..

The decision maker needs the boot of a drunk soldier to get back to reality...

That's lagos for you. With black waters from soakaway flooding the streets..dirty place

This is what you have when you put installed a noise maker as your governor.

For the plus size and big tummy, check my signature

That's what you get for a taxless culture and a phucked up mentality. Can you imagine? A hospital of all places.