Kwara state PDP has urged Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq to exercise caution with regard to the plans to reopen the Sobi Specialist Hospital and use it as Emergency and Pediatrics wards.
The party opined that doing this may expose Kwara people to avoidable health calamities .
The health facility had according to the party been under lock ad keys after serving as isolation center during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kwara state PDP noted that what has become a cause for concern ‘is the impending catastrophe should the government proceed with the decision to reopen Sobi Specialist Hospital without paying attention to the laid down medical protocols which align with international best practices’.
The state Publicity Secretary, Mr. Olusegun Olusola Adewara in a statement made available to Team@orientactualmags.com submitted that the sudden announcement by the Kwara state Hospital Management Board at the instance of the governor, ‘to reopen the facility for Emergency Pediatrics and other services when the entire facility is in a deplorable state and especially when it has not been fumigated and declared safe for use by any medical authority is unacceptable and may lead to escalating epidemic calamity in the state’.
The party noted that such a facility which was used as an isolation center for COVID-19 patients, ought to pass through some rigorous medical evaluation before making an attempt to reopen it.
‘For a facility that was used as a COVID-19 Isolation center to be made available for public use, it is wise that the government first perform public health assessments of the facility, mount disease surveillance, and conduct robust epidemiological reports to ascertain whether the entire facility is now free of COVID-19 virus or otherwise. It is after all these processes are done that the government can now declare whether the facility is fit for public use or not. None of these has been done and the government is declaring it open for innocent children’ the statement alleged.
‘The Sobi Specialist Hospital, since serving as a COVID-19 Isolation Center, has not yet been fumigated to date, nor has the government evacuated all the equipment used for the isolation. Instead, Governor Abdulrahman is planning to repaint some equipment used to isolate COVID-19 patents and refurbish them to be reused, this is despicable and a height of irresponsibility on the part of any government, to say the least.
A careful look at the environment of the hospital even from the photos shared by government officials who made an inspection visit to the place, clearly showed how the hospital has been taken over by thick forest, pests, and weeds.
It is unfortunate that those who were there for the inspection visit also failed to adhere to simple COVID-19 rules which suggest covering of noses, gloving their hands, and maintaining social distance to protect them from being infected.
Our party therefore advises that the Ministry of Health quickly identify every member of this team and put them under medical surveillance immediately to detect possible infections and arrest same before spreading them to the public’ the party also submitted.
The statement has also called for immediate suspension of the plans to reopen the health facility and a transparent epidemic review and examination of the hospital-Team@orientactualmags.com
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