N4.4 billion hospital equipment lying waste in Gombe medical store

Investigation by our Correspondent who went round the State’s Medical store revealed that hospital beds, oxygen cylinders, drip stands among many others were among the equipment left to rot away in the sun while some are wasting away in buildings within the premises of the Medical store.

Confirming the existence of these equipment, some staff who would not want their names mentioned confided to our reporter on condition of anonymity that some of the equipment have been stored in the premises for as long as three to four years.

Several visits by our Correspondent to the office of the officer in charge of the Medical Store, Pharmacist Habu Santana to react to the allegations could not yield results. As at 12:30 pm Wednesday (13/06/2018), our reporter was told that he was yet to report for work and no one was ready to divulge his cell phone number.

Findings by our Correspondent also revealed that there is high level conspiracy revolving around the delivery of the equipment in the store almost four years ago by the firm contracted to deliver them.

A credible source said that there was no proper contract agreement concerning the delivery of the equipment, that is, that due process was not followed, thus, making it difficult for hospitals to make requests for certain equipment that they are lacking.

He added that the equipment, worth about N4.4 billion, were said to have been delivered to the store based on verbal agreement.

Apart from the many hospitals in the state, both primary and secondary health facilities, needing these equipment in the rural and urban centres, there are the ultra modern women and children Hospital in Gombe and the snake bite hospital in Kaltungo which structures have been completed by the present Government over two years ago and the people of the State have been expecting the take off of these very important facilities.

Efforts were made to get the reaction of the State Government to these developments but the State Commissioner of Health, Dr. Kennedy Ishaya was also not on hand to answer questions from our Correspondent as he was said to have travelled out of the State.