Resident Doctors, patients lament over malfunctions of Delta Teaching Hospital

Resident doctors at the Delta State University Teaching Hospital, DELSUTH, Oghara, are lamenting that the people of Delta State cannot continue to have their only teaching hospital operating largely as a facility limited to outpatient consultations and referrals.
The hospital has continued to rely on a limited generator schedule that provides only a few hours of electricity daily, leaving essential services significantly impaired.

The continued disruption of critical healthcare services started on June 18, 2026, with the failure of its step-down transformer.

Despite the delivery of a replacement transformer to the hospital premises on July 12, 2026, more than one month later, installation has commenced but remains incomplete, and electricity is yet to be restored from the national grid.

President of the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), Dr Aghogho Isaac; General Secretary, Dr Ogochuku Nwachuku; and Dr Asogwa Nwachioke lamented that, for now, no new inpatient admissions are being undertaken, Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admissions remain suspended, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) admissions remain suspended, dialysis services remain suspended, and patients requiring admission or intensive care are being stabilised and referred to other health facilities.

They posited that the practical implication is that, despite the suspension of the Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) industrial action, most hospital wards remain largely empty because new admissions have been halted.

“Clinical activities have been reduced mainly to outpatient consultations during the limited hours of electricity and the temporary stabilisation of emergency cases before referral to other hospitals.

“This is not how a tertiary teaching hospital is meant to function. The only teaching hospital in Delta State is unable to consistently provide many of these essential tertiary services because of a prolonged infrastructure failure.

While expressing deep concern over the challenge, they said the consequences have been profound. They lamented that the people of Delta State cannot continue to have their only teaching hospital operating largely as a facility limited to outpatient consultations and referrals.

They called on the Delta State Government, hospital management, the contractors handling the installation, BEDC Electricity Plc, and every relevant stakeholder to accord the completion, energisation and commissioning of the transformer the highest level of priority.

“For many critically ill patients, stabilisation is only the first step. A woman with life-threatening obstetric haemorrhage may require an emergency Caesarean section or laparotomy.

“A patient with a ruptured ectopic pregnancy, perforated bowel, severe trauma, obstructed labour, acute renal failure requiring dialysis, or another surgical emergency often requires immediate definitive treatment—not simply stabilisation and referral. Every delay in providing such care may adversely affect patient outcomes.

“The effects extend far beyond patient care. Residency training has been severely disrupted. Undergraduate medical education has been adversely affected. Hospital revenue has declined considerably.

“Healthcare professionals are unable to practise to the full extent of their expertise, while patients and their families are compelled to seek specialist care elsewhere, often at significant financial, physical and emotional cost.

“ARD DELSUTH acknowledges and appreciates the efforts of the Delta State Government in procuring the replacement transformer and recognises the ongoing installation process currently taking place.

“However, until the installation is completed, the transformer is energised, and DELSUTH is reconnected to the national grid, healthcare services will remain severely constrained.

“Every additional day of delay translates into continued disruption of patient care, prolonged interruption of residency training, reduced hospital productivity, and avoidable hardship for thousands of Deltans who depend on DELSUTH for specialist healthcare.

“The restoration of electricity is therefore no longer merely an engineering exercise—it is an urgent public health priority. Every effort should be made to complete the outstanding work and restore electricity to DELSUTH without further delay,” they warned.

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