ABSUTH Road: Workers and residents beg government to save lives

June 15, 2017


By Ijendu Iheaka


Workers at the Abia State Teaching Hospital, (ABSUTH) in Aba have appealed to the state government to urgently rehabilitate Udeagbala –Umueze road leading to the hospital to save lives.

Some of the workers told our reporter in Aba on Thursday that the deplorable condition of the road was hampering quick response to emergency cases to and from the hospital.

Dr Obi Uchechukwu, Aba-based medical practitioner said that the road failed since 2013 and had posed serious danger to patients, workers and residents of the area.

“In its present condition, it will be very hard for vehicles conveying emergency cases to the hospital to access it on time before the victims die in traffic.

The doctor, therefore, pleaded with the state government to stop using palliative measures on the road but should reconstruct it in order to save lives of citizens.

“The government should fully rehabilitate the road because in times of emergency, like an accident, there is no way an ambulance can enter the hospital freely without hindrances,” he said.

A resident, Mrs Mercy Kalu said that the road had been reportedly awarded for rehabilitation regretting that since then, nothing had been done by the contractor.

She said that the strategic position of the road as the only route leading to the teaching hospital deserved urgent and proper attention to avoid unnecessary loss of lives.

Kalu advised government to ensure that drains were built on the road for its durability.

Mr Emmanuel Chidi, a staff of the hospital also joined in the call for the rehabilitation of the road saying that some workers were always late to work due to the bad road.

“We experience horrible traffic on the road and by the time one gets to the hospital, we are tired and worn out,” he said.