By Tina George, Minna
ASHENEWS reports that a certain Ultimate Care hospital, in the Barkin Sale area of Minna, Niger state, where about six patients lay in different critical stages of recovery, have been shut down by a team of supervisors, who were conducting inspection tours of private hospitals and health centers across Minna metropolis.
Three of the patients had had surgeries and were lying on their beds in one of the wards at the ‘hospital’.
While some of the patients had drips on their hands, no drip stand was used for the drips, and there were no adequate equipment to conduct surgeries in the surgery and consultation rooms.
One of the patients on admission told the officials in company of ASHENEWS reporter, said that she had undergone four abdominal surgeries from different private clinics with the fourth one done at Ultimate Care.
The signpost announcing the hospital reads: “Ultimate Care hospital” – Scanning, Surgery, Clinic, and Xray”.
During the visit of the team led by the Director of Medical Services and Training at the Niger State Ministry of Health, Dr. Baba Uthman, there were no doctors on ground, and the nurses affirmed that they conduct surgeries in the absence of the doctors.
It was discovered that the proprietor of the hospital is currently away abroad and hired another doctor to look after the patients who would attend the hospital for consultations and medical services.
The nurses disclosed that the hired doctor was always absent to properly provide medical services to the patients, especially those who are in dire need of attention thereby leaving nurses to conduct and carry out the work of a doctor.
Not satisfied with the way the hospital is being run and the danger it serves to the people around the community it serves, the Niger State Ministry of Health ordered the closure of the hospital.
According to Dr. Uthman, the unwholesome practice carried out in the hospital can be attributed to quackery and announced the immediate closure of the hospital.
He further observed that the nurses were carrying out surgeries on patients without the necessary equipment, pointing that the hospital is also operating in an unhealthy environment, with no doctors on ground to properly manage patients after surgery.
Uthman frowned at the situation where the nurses had assumed the role of doctors, which showed negligence and incompetence on the part of the owners.
He lamented the alarming rate at which unsupervised surgeries were conducted on patients in private hospitals, stating that most of the private hospitals undertake such acts for monetary gains.
Uthman then disclosed that the state government is working hard to stem the menace of unsupervised surgeries and clamp down on quacks and illegal health centers and hospitals.
He cautioned Nigerians against visiting uncertified private health facilities where quacks are capable of complicating their illnesses.
He also urged them to patronize government hospitals that have certified, highly experienced, and qualified personnel in different fields of medicine.
