The House of Representatives has raised the alarm over an impending healthcare crisis in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
To this end, the Green Chamber called on the Federal Ministry of Health and the FCT Administration to immediately assess the state of health facilities in the nation’s capital with the aim of identifying critical areas for expansion, upgrade and resource allocation.
The resolution followed the adoption of a motion sponsored at the plenary on Wednesday by Nnamdi Ezechi.
Moving the motion, the lawmaker decried the alarming strain on the healthcare system in the FCT, with government hospitals and medical facilities being severely overstretched, resulting in a critical shortage of bed spaces and medical personnel.
The lawmaker noted that the population of the FCT has surged significantly over the past two decades, while many of the existing government hospitals were constructed several years ago, with little or no expansion to match the growing demand for healthcare services.
Exechi stressed that patients in need of critical medical attention are often left unattended or subjected to long waiting hours due to the unavailability of hospital beds and limited capacity of existing facilities, leading to preventable loss of lives daily.
He expressed worry that the lack of sufficient medical personnel, including doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers, further exacerbates the crisis, reducing the quality of care and increasing the burden on the few available staff.
Exechi expressed concern that if immediate interventions are not made, the healthcare crisis might escalate to unmanageable levels, undermining the right to health and threatening the well-being of residents in the nation’s capital.
The House resolved: “Urge the Federal Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the FCT Administration, to immediately assess the state of health facilities in the FCT with the aim of identifying critical areas for expansion, upgrade, and resource allocation.
“Constitute an ad-hoc committee to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the current state of healthcare facilities in the FCT and submit a report within four weeks with recommendations for improvement.
“Call on the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in the healthcare system of the FCT, ensuring that emergency funds are released for the upgrade of hospitals, recruitment of medical personnel, and acquisition of critical medical equipment.”;;
