UCH abandons plans to charge patients daily N1,000 electricity fee to cover diesel costs

NIGERIA'S University College Hospital (UCH) in Ibadan has rescinded its recent decision to charge all patients a sum N1,000 per day to cover the cost of generating electricity as the facility is now wholly dependent on generators.

Established by an August 1952 Act of Parliament in response to the need for the training of medical personnel, UCH was Nigeria's flagship hospital at independence. Earlier this month, the hospital announced that patients will have to pay the daily electricity due to high cost of power tariffs and diesel in the country.

Pointing out that the charges had come necessary due to the prevailing economic conditions, the UCH management sent an internal memo to all its departments titled Approval for the Recommendation to Add Utility Fee to Service Charged Patients in the Hospital. Signed by the UCH administrator, Wole Oyeyemi, on behalf of the chairman of the medical advisory committee and chief medical director, it recommended a N1,000 electricity charge to be levied on patients in the hospital.

However, the development created an outrage as the move was regarded as a negation of the medical principles of placing healthcare above all other needs. Already, patients are denied healthcare across Nigeria if they cannot afford it and as a result the outrage forced the UCH management to withdraw the internal memo.

Professor Jesse Otegbayo, the hospital's chief medical director, said: “The attention of the management of the University College Hospital, Ibadan has been drawn to a publication in all sections of the media alleging that the hospital is charging N1,000 per patient daily for electricity. The hospital wishes to state that the memo being referred to was an internal memo which we did not implement after a thorough review from internal mechanisms for such issues and has since been withdrawn.

"At no point did the hospital charge electricity fee. We appeal to the public to ignore the said publication.”