Peoples Democratic Party ,PDP, in Cross River State has urged the Gov. Bassey Otu-led government to urgently revamp the healthcare sector.
The Chairman, Mr Venacius Ikem, made the call at an interactive session with journalists in Calabar yesterday.
Ikem said that the call became necessary following obvious ‘collapse, decay and neglect’ in the state’s healthcare delivery system..
He said that many public health facilities in Cross River require urgent government’s attention.
“The only functional general hospitals in Calabar and Akamkpa operate without stable electricity supply.
“This situation has forced medical personnel to rely on petrol provided by patients’ families or inbuilt torchlight in cell phones during surgeries”, he said.
The PDP chairman said that the situation had exposed many patients to serious risks, saying, “the healthcare sector is understaffed”
According to him, the shortage of qualified medical personnel has weakened service delivery in the healthcare sector, especially in rural communities.
Ikem urged the state government to give priority attention to the recruitment of medical personnel and rehabilitation of health facilities.
In his response, the Commissioner for Health, Dr Henry Ayuk, said that the Otu-led administration had invested heavily in healthcare sector development to improve public health services.
Ayuk said that the current administration inherited huge infrastructure decay and shortage of manpower.
The commissioner further said that the Otu-led government had employed a good number of nurses and doctors since it came on board.
“There has also been tremendous improvement in the welfare of health workers, especially their salaries.
“This is in addition to total overhaul of healthcare facilities across the state”, he said.
