Nasarawa Assembly Raises Alarm Over Hospital Crisis, Seeks Urgent Government Intervention

The Nasarawa State House of Assembly has urged Governor Abdullahi Sule to urgently address severe staff shortages and deteriorating facilities at General Hospital, Nasarawa, warning that the problems are affecting healthcare delivery.

The lawmakers also called on the state government to equip general hospitals across Nasarawa State with essential medical equipment and facilities, particularly to improve access to healthcare for residents of rural communities.

The Speaker of the House, Dr Danladi Jatau, announced the resolution during plenary in Lafia on Wednesday, following a Matter of Public Interest raised by Hajara Danyaro Ibrahim, who represents Nasarawa Central Constituency under the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Jatau urged the governor to direct the Ministry of Health and the Hospitals Management Board to deploy more doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers to General Hospital, Nasarawa. He subsequently instructed the Clerk of the House to forward the resolution to the governor for action.

During the debate, Ibrahim described the hospital’s condition as alarming, citing inadequate staffing, unreliable basic utilities and poorly maintained facilities. She alleged that just one doctor and one nurse were attending to between 20 and 30 cases at a time.

“It is unfortunate, we have only one doctor and a nurse attending to 20 or 30 cases at a time. There is no electricity, no water, and the toilets are in bad condition,” the lawmaker said.

Ibrahim further alleged that patients and their relatives were sometimes required to bring water from home for use at the hospital. She said she had repeatedly raised the concerns with the Hospitals Management Board but had yet to see significant improvements.

Calling for more decisive action, the lawmaker urged the state government to declare a state of emergency at the facility, arguing that its conditions were unfit for effective healthcare delivery.

“I want the state government to declare a state of emergency in General Hospital Nasarawa. No staff, no electricity, no water, patients bring water from home. The hospital is just a building standing on its own,” she added.

As part of her proposed solution, Ibrahim appealed for three doctors and 10 nurses from Nasarawa Local Government Area to be deployed to the hospital to help meet the healthcare needs of the surrounding community.

Other lawmakers, including Yusuf Aliyu Chunbaya and Abel Yakubu Bala, supported the call for urgent intervention. They warned that continued neglect could further weaken the hospital and other public health facilities across the state.

The Assembly maintained that the government needed to act promptly to address the reported shortages and infrastructure problems, stressing that adequate staffing, essential utilities and functioning medical facilities are critical to providing reliable healthcare services.