The management of Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Aro, Abeokuta, refuted the news report on Wednesday that one of its patients attacked any staff of the hospital.
The provost and medical director of the hospital, Dr Paul Agboola, said this during a news conference held at the hospital annexe in Lantoro, Abeokuta.
He also denied any form of protest or demonstration by patients in the hospital.
Agboola highlighted the dedication of the hospital staff and their role as first responders to psychiatric emergencies, adding that the majority of patients are peaceful and cooperate with healthcare personnel.
“The majority of our patients suffering from mental disorders are not violent and are peace-loving people who usually cooperate well with our attending health care personnel, who sacrificially contribute to their treatment before discharge to the community.
“Our dedicated staff are proud to be among the first responders in cases of medical and psychiatric emergencies in the country; indeed, when people in the community feel threatened or unsettled by such emergencies, they call on us for the necessary interventions.
“At this point, I wish to state that the event in question was wrongly reported by some online news outlets in a way that stigmatises people living with mental health conditions.
“The general public needs to know that no patient engaged in biting any hospital staff, nor is it true that three nurses were attacked on that particular day. Furthermore, there was no public demonstration or protest by the patients in the hospital, as had been erroneously reported.
The provost identified the challenge of constant power supply as a significant issue for the hospital, with a large portion of the budget spent on diesel.
“The issue of constant 24-hour power supply was identified as a major challenge to the hospital. Sadly, this is a common problem. Currently, the hospital management spends a considerable proportion of the overhead allocation from the Federal Ministry of Finance on part payment for diesel purchases monthly.”
He expressed gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration for a proposed special intervention through the Sustainable Development Goals office, which aims to address the power supply issues with solar-powered systems in federal hospitals.
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