Dr Richard Okoye, the President of Save A Life Foundation, has cried out over the huge electricity bill he recently got from the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution on his Rivers State hospital.
In a clip that went viral on Thursday, Okoye said his bill increased to N25,300,000 because he was on Band A.
According to him, the Federal Government’s decision to increase the band’s tariff, which he described as a ‘Band A tariff epidemic”, to N225 kilowatt per hour from the current N66 would destroy the healthcare system of the country, adding that hospitals only render essential services and should not be seen as business centres.
He said, “By reason of us (the hospital) being in band A, our monthly power bill is now shooting up to N25,300,000. That’s crazy; the hospitals are not business centres but only render essential services to society. This Band A tariff epidemic is bound to destroy the country’s healthcare system.
“We are already struggling with an influx of doctors leaving the country. The majority of the healthcare system is struggling, as it were. If nothing is done, urgently revisit that decision. The band A tariff epidemics will turn most hospitals into morgues. Something that could be preventable.
“Power (electricity) is the life of the healthcare delivery. Patients have hope and a sense of living again when the light is in the hospital. In addition to that, the majority of emergency drugs and anaesthetic drugs always want to be at a particular temperature which can be sustained by electricity. If this decision persists, it will come to a point where most of the drug will be in an unusable state, and it is already happening.”
Narrating his experience during a medical engagement to elaborate on the need for a hospital to be on steady power supply, Okoye said an elderly woman who was supposed to be operated on was given an exact volume of propofol needed for her to relax but could not sleep because the potency of the drug has reduced due to lack of proper storage.
He added, “We were surprised and thought the woman was alcoholic, and the anaesthetic increased the dose a little and asked again, only for the woman to confirm that she was fine again. Only after evaluation was it found out that even though the drug is original but not well preserved, it would lose potency.
“That is to say, those who are diabetic in Nigeria should brace up because the majority of them would see no way to buy their drugs. In fact, they need to travel miles to get a hospital with a steady light to get drugs they are taking.
“While this Band A is on, teaching hospitals and Federal Medical Centre used to enjoy some relative form of light because perhaps they will not be like other people. They are now downgrading them to Band B and channelling Band A to those they feel can pay to the detriment of the people. I can count on and on, power is what determines whether a surgical procession would be successful or not. It determines the ‘before and after’ outcome of any surgery.”
“If the instruments are not properly sterilised, they may be the ones resistant to all antibiotics known. , that even when we start getting it right, the worst has already happened.”
He further urged the Federal Government to do something about the decision as it is taking a toll on the hospitals and the health of Nigerians generally.
“My heart melts when a teaching hospital can pack its instruments to go and sterilise in another hospital because it doesn’t have light. The FG should act because it is preventable as it is now,” he stressed.
Recall that on April 3, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission approved an increase in electricity tariff for customers under the Band A (20 hours of electricity supply daily) classification.
The Vice Chairman, NERC, Musliu Oseni, said the increase will see the customers paying N225 kilowatt per hour from the current N66.
Oseni said customers in Band A represent 15 per cent of the country’s 12 million electricity customers.
However, a Federal High Court in Kano has issued an order restraining NERC and the Kano Electricity Distribution Company from implementing the new electricity tariff for Band A consumers.
Okoye began his hospital in 2010.
His dream was to radically transform the health sector with hitherto seemingly impossible medical innovations that would not only increase the life expectancy of Nigerians, hovering between 56 and 58 years to about 70 years, but also make Nigeria cum Africa one of the choicest health tourism destinations in the world.
According to him, he approached a micro-finance bank to ask for a loan, and the bank gave him a loan of N500,000 after being impressed with his vision,
“I judiciously utilised the money and, in due time, paid it back,” he said.
The micro-finance bank was further impressed, so they gave him another loan of N6m.
