Residents of Obiaruku in Ukwuani Local Government Area of Delta State have raised serious concerns overa a critical shortage of medical personnel at the Obiaruku General Hospital, where only one doctor is reportedly available to attend to hundreds of patients daily.
According to residents, patients from Obiaruku and neighbouring communities now crowd the hospital on a daily basis, resulting in long waiting hours and delayed treatment.
They warn that the situation poses a major risk to public health, particularly for vulnerable groups such as infants, pregnant women and the elderly.
According to reports, One resident, Mr Chidi Uwabuofu, described his recent experience at the hospital as alarming. He said he arrived at the facility around 9am for a routine medical check-up but was forced to wait until late in the evening before being attended to, due to the overwhelming workload on the lone doctor.
Uwabuofu also recounted a distressing incident involving a breastfeeding mother who reportedly left the hospital around 3pm with her sick baby after the doctor stopped consultations because of exhaustion.
According to him, the woman had no option but to return the next day as she could not afford treatment at a private hospital.
He noted that the hospital is already grappling with inadequate medical equipment and said the shortage of doctors has further crippled effective service delivery.
Uwabuofu warned that untreated or delayed cases could worsen and lead to avoidable loss of lives.
Residents have appealed to the Delta State Government to urgently deploy more doctors and healthcare workers to the hospital. They specifically called on Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, Ukwuani council authorities and members of the Delta State House of Assembly to intervene.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr Joseph Onojaeme is yet to comment, but a close aide said the ministry was looking into the matter.
