UCH health workers stage five day strike to protest the lack of electricity at the hospital

HEALTH workers at the University College Hospital (UCH) Ibadan have declared a five-day strike to protest the incessant power cuts they constantly have to endure which frequently prevents them from doing their work.

Under the united platform of the Council of UCH Union Leaders, the workers began their strike on Monday. They are incensed about the fact that the facility, Nigeria's first teaching hospital, has been without electricity for 102 days, making it impossible for them to do their jobs properly.

In a statement signed by their co-chairmen, Oladayo Olabampe and Dr Uthman Adedeji, the health workers said that the deliberate withholding of power has crippled efficient service delivery in the hospital and is endangering the lives of patients and exposing staff to hazards. UCH was originally disconnected by the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) and although this matter has been resolved and power restored, electricity supplied to service delivery areas and the residential quarters is being internally rationed and restricted by management.

According to the health workers, the warning strike become imperative and it is not for personal gains but about the safety of the members of the public. They called on the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the Federal Ministry of Power to urgently intervene and prevent further deterioration.

Their statement read: “For 102 days between November 3, 2024 and February 12, 2025, the University College Hospital was plunged into total darkness due to disconnection by Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company. Following nationwide concern and intervention by the minister of power, electricity supply was restored through resolution with the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company.

“Today, we regret to inform Nigerians that although power has been restored to UCH by IBEDC, electricity supplied to service delivery areas and the residential quarters is being internally rationed and restricted by management. This deliberate withholding of power has crippled efficient service delivery, endangered patients, exposed staff to hazards and undermined the integrity of one of Nigeria’s foremost tertiary hospitals.

“Patients who should receive care are being turned away, procedures are referred elsewhere and lives hang in the balance. A teaching hospital in 2026 is being forced to operate like a facility from a bygone era. A huge chunk of cases and procedures presented to UCH are now rejected or referred due to inadequate internal power distribution.

The hospital is losing millions of naira daily in internally generated revenue. Ironically, a cost-cutting measure has become a revenue-destroying policy. If this continues, the financial survival of UCH is at serious risk.

“We call on the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Federal Ministry of Power and the federal government of Nigeria to urgently intervene and prevent further deterioration. We appeal to well-meaning Nigerians to stand with us as a nation cannot strengthen its healthcare system while its premier institutions operate in darkness”.