FEATURE: Staff, patients complain as newly renovated Oyo health centre rapidly deteriorates

As the officer in charge of the Sabo Primary Health Centre, Matron Akande Akinlabi has witnessed firsthand the transformation of the facility she has diligently served for years. However, the excitement of a recent renovation has turned into a troubling reality.
“The renovation is a good one and I find it commendable, however, I think the government should look into the status now and help intervene so as to ensure our delivery of health services is better,” she said as she fanned herself with a paper.
Peeling wall inside the matrons office
Sabo Health Care Centre was commissioned in 2004 by the then-governor of Oyo State, Adewolu Ladoja. It was meant to serve an estimated 5,000 population in the Sabo community. The state of the health centre has been in disrepair over years until 2021, when N22.5 million was allocated for the renovation and expansion of the health centre. The project was aimed at improving healthcare services for the local community.
Inside the health clinic
The project, which commenced in 2021 and was completed in 2022, included the addition of a pharmacy, a borehole, and a labour room, among other facilities. However, less than a year after its completion, the quality of the work done is under intense scrutiny as staff and community members are increasingly concerned about the quality of the renovation, with numerous issues surfacing less than a year after the project’s completion.
During a recent visit by UDEME to the health centre, noticeable flaws were evident. Peeling paint on the walls and malfunctioning ceiling fans are among the most glaring issues, raising doubts about the quality of materials used and the overall execution of the project.
Mrs Akinlabi, the officer in charge of the health centre, expressed her mixed feelings as she questioned the quality of the work done. “There are improvements. We had one ward for both male and female patients, but now we have separate rooms for each. However, the quality of the renovation brings questions. The peeling walls and broken fans is something of concern for us. We expected better quality work given the amount allocated for the project,” she said.
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Salisu Mikhail, who introduced himself as the Ward Development Committee Chairman of the health centre, pointed out the issues with the building’s exterior.
Parts of the newly constructed fence of the health clinic
“The fencing of the health centre and the tiling are part of the renovation. However, the peeling walls make us question the quality of materials used. In less than a year, we are already seeing these problems,” he said, pointing to the peeling walls of the fencing at the back of the clinic.
Mrs. Akinlabi further discussed the issue of the non-functional fans. “We had ceiling fans before the renovation, but standing fans were provided after. They stopped working after a few months. Despite multiple repairs, we eventually had to pack them up and store them because they couldn’t be fixed,” she said.
Jahman Bawa, a regular visitor to the health centre, shared his experience: “The renovation was commendable, and I come here often for treatment. However, the waiting room is uncomfortable without a fan, especially in this hot weather. It would have been better if there was a fan here,” he said.
Corroborating that, Isah Muhammad, a patient who is just convalescing, said he left his bed to sit in the reception due to the heat in the room.
“I am just getting better and I have to leave my bed in the ward to sit here and get some air. I was unconscious when I was brought here but I am getting better now,” said Mr Isah.
The abandoned fans dumped in the store after attempts to repair failed
Speaking to UDEME, Lawal Adetayo, a civil engineer, explained that the peeling walls might be a result of moisture infiltration, commonly known as seepage. “When renovating, you should test structural integrity before starting the work. Moisture, or seepage, might be coming from the ground. A damp-proof membrane (DPM) should have been used during construction to prevent this,” he said.
Adetayo, while elaborating on other potential causes, said looking at the picture of the building, it is safe to conclude that what was done at the health centre is ‘renopainting’ . “The problem could arise from the plastering stage too, where the previous plastering wasn’t properly removed before reapplying. The surface needs to be rough and dry before painting. Additionally, painting during rainy conditions or improper paint mixing could also cause peeling. It seems emulsion paint was used here, and if too much water was added, that could lead to these issues. A proper renovation is needed to correct this, or else it will keep peeling off.”
Efforts to reach Senator Yaro Anthony Siyako, who facilitated the project, proved abortive as calls went unanswered and emails received no response.
Speaking during a visit to her office, UCH Public Relations Officer (PRO) Obafunmilayo Enitan said the University College Hospital, which is the supervising agency for the project, cannot disclose much about the project.
“We don’t have much information about the project at Sabo because we literally handed it off the moment it got awarded to the contractor,” she said.
When reached, Ochem Vivian, a project supervisor with Dominant Engineering Limited, the contractor in charge of the execution of the project, maintained that the environment is responsible for the peeling off of the wall.
“Sabo is not the only place we worked on, and we don’t get calls from other places. The cause of that is foundational and what we did is only remodeling. We did not do any work with the foundation where we could have done the damp-proof membrane to prevent such,” said Ms Vivian.
When asked about the malfunctioning fans, she blamed the staffers of the health center for what she described as their “careless usage”.
“It was the same fans we supplied to other places we worked on and they worked perfectly. The capacitors of the fans as usual and it is due to the way they use it,” she said.
“I have been there before at night and they left it working when there was no light, I had to switch it off when they brought the light. You can’t be using fan like that and expect the fan not to be faulty.
One of the fans in the Matron’s office, not functioning
However, when asked Sabo Primary Health Centre staffers insisted that the fans stopped working a few months after they were brought.
“We attempted fixing them with our own money more than once and gave up when it was not working,” said Mrs Akinlabi.
By Olanshile Ogunrinu
This story was supported with funding from the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID).
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