By Tony Adibe
The Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Enugu, on Wednesday, made a passionate appeal to Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, organizations and wealthy Nigerians to assist indigent patients by paying their over N20million medical bills this Christmas season.
The Medical Director of the hospital, Prof. Monday Igwe, made the appeal during the annual Thanksgiving and Town Hall Meeting of the hospital held within the hospital premises in New Haven, Enugu.
Prof Igwe explained that the hospital had a pile up of unpaid indigent bills, such that in a section of the four sections of the hospital alone, “we have accumulated over N6 million unpaid indigent patients’ bills, and this is applicable in other three sections.”
The Medical Director said that there had been a trend over the years that during yuletide in this part of the world, families come to drop their brothers and sisters having mental challenges in the hospital and before you know it they disappear and abandon them to us.
The MD said: “We cannot send them parking or throw them to the streets; we ensure they are fed, clothed, cleaned up, accommodated and provide needed medical services for them. These provisions weigh heavily on finances of the hospital.
“We are appealing to our people, as they remember the motherless babies, orphanage homes and other places, our patients should be remembered also, they need that care and empathy for them to recover fast. We are calling on Gov. Ugwuanyi and mother of the state, Mrs Monica Ugwuanyi to also visit our patients as they visit other places this Yuletide with gifts and other goodies; our patients need such special gifts, care and payment of their bills.
“We want corporate organizations, wealthy families, and individuals to remember our brothers and sisters that are passing through special care in the hospital. Nothing is little, even if it means coming to stay with them a few hours this season and appreciate their conditions and the life God has given them.”
The MD thanked the Federal Ministry of Health and the Board members of the hospital for completed and ongoing projects within the hospital, noting that the hospital had continued to work under good industrial harmony. He said that the management would not relent on its commitment to staff welfare, as the annual promotion and arrears of promotion of the staff this year had been taken care of.
“W are looking forward for an end of the year package to appreciate the staff efforts this year,” he said.
The Board Chairman of the hospital, Chief Shaban Shuaibu, said that thanksgiving and town hall meeting was necessary to appreciate God for sustaining all the staff, management and board members of the hospital as well as thanking the staff who had worked hard. Shuaibu said the board going forward would continue to implement programmes that would continue to impact positively on the hospital as well as improve quality healthcare service delivery.
During the thanksgiving, Rev. Canon Ifeanyi Onah, urged the staff to see their service as unto God and not to men, adding: “God is the one to fully repay you as you take care of our special patients here”. Onah urged those staff still engaging in lip services to desist from such acts but dedicated them to serving well even when no one is watching or supervising.
