Ojobo Community General Hospital in Delta State, Burutu, serving multiple communities in the riverine area of Burutu LGA, has been left in a state of devastation.

By Joseph Bienbo

Operating with No trained medical specialist , No Electricity, No Oxygen, Rotting Structures Leave Residents of Ojobo community and several other Riverine communities to Slow Death.

Communities in Ojobo and neighboring riverine areas of Burutu Local Government Area (LGA) in Delta State are sounding the alarm over the deplorable state of Ojobo General Hospital, the sole referral healthcare facility serving thousands in the region.

The hospital, once a beacon of medical care for Ojobo, Toru-gbene, Ndoro, Pere-Toru and surrounding settlements, is now described as a “silent death trap” abandoned to decay.

It has been revealed that the government General Hospital in Ojobo, located at the heart of Burutu local government area of Delta State, has been reduced to ruins, leaving several communities that depend on it to seek for health care services in other places.

From decaying structures to insufficient manpower and lack of adequate equipment, drugs, and even electricity, the hospital once hailed as a standard habitat for ailing residents in the riverine communities of Burutu LGA, is now begging for rehabilitation as both human and material resources are rotten away. Remarkably, the hospital, which serves Burutu LGA major communities such as Ojobo, Torugbene, Ndoro, Pere-Toru, and several other riverine settlements, the hospital today lies in ruins.

Patients are forced to undertake perilous boat trips to Bomadi or Warri for care, pregnant women and children with treatable conditions face heightened mortality risks.

“This neglect has forced patients to embark on dangerous boat journeys to Bomadi or Warri in search of care. Many women in labour and children with treatable illnesses never make it back alive” the petitioners lamented.

“Buildings are cracked and uninhabitable. Drugs and machines are non-existent. Manpower is critically short, leaving emergencies unattended” added by Comr. Timipre Ndoni.

However Ojobo General Hospital has faced major challenges in the past, including a past incident where a principal medical officer, Dr. Wisdom Iboyitete, was kidnapped from the hospital premises in 2020. He was later released after medical practitioners protested with strike actions, and kidnappers demanded a N5 million ransom.

The Community leaders stress that healthcare is a fundamental right, urging Delta State leadership to demonstrate commitment to serving Niger Delta’s riverine populations.

The community leaders highlighted four urgent priorities, Urging the government to rehabilitate the hospital structures including provision of Modern medical equipment with stable electricity and laboratories, deployment of qualified doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and midwives, sustainable funding and monitoring to ensure long-term efficiency.