Korede Abdullah, Lagos
Psychiatric patients at the Neurosynaptic Hospital Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital, have protested what they described as poor treatment being meted to them at the facility at Aro, Ogun state.
The violent protest, which jolted the entire members of staff of the health facility, lasted over three hours before the police from the Lafenwa Divisional Headquarters arrived at the scene, and brought the chaotic situation under control.
In the ensuing melee, a psychiatric doctor with four other nurses allegedly escaped being mortally wounded during the violent protest.
The cause of the protest was said to be poor treatment they were subjected to on a daily basis at the facility.
Africa Health Report reliably gathered that the mentally unstable persons at the Aro Neuropsychiatric facility were protesting poor feeding, poor sanitary system, as well as the lack of alternative electricity source each time the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, IBEDC, cuts power supply at the hospital.
Some of the relatives of the patients on admission, lamented that that the matter had been dragging for a while before some of the partially healed patients, took the decision to protest the situation even when it became obvious that the management of the health facility would not any solution to the situation.
When contacted, the Public Relations Officer of the facility, Olajide Ajibola simply said the matter was “just an internal affair”, which has been redressed and is not worth being reported as news.
Speaking on the development, the Lafenwa Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Enatufe Omoh, said that it was not true that many members of staff were wounded, as only one of the psychiatric doctors was assaulted and he sustained varying degrees of teeth bites from the protesting on-admission patients.
The divisional Police Officer who addressed pressmen around 8:30pm on Wednesday, stated further that the protesters had disagreements with their handlers at the health facility having been denied some privileges, which included seeing their relations who would take them home after being discharged from the hospital, as well as not being allowed to freely move around the facility.
He concluded that the crisis had been brought under control.
