The centre provides medical services to the President, Vice-President, their families, aides, members of staff of the State House and other entitled public servants.
It is also a training facility for house officers and other medical personnel.
Investigations by Punch showed that the top clinic located in Asokoro, a highbrow area of the FCT is gradually becoming a shadow of its old self.
A cross-section of the centre’s patients told Punch that patients were now being asked to go and buy drugs from outside as they were no longer available in the centre.
Most hit, it was further learnt, are patients with kidney problems who are undergoing dialysis in the facility.
Although, some of them are expected to be undergoing the dialysis at least twice a week, the centre’s management has been cancelling such exercise, therefore putting the lives of the patients at risk.
In some instances when they attend to them, the patients are made to come with some of the items the doctors will use for the exercise.
It was learnt that the centre’s management had resorted to sending text messages to patients on items they should bring for their treatment.
In one of such messages sent to a patient which is in Punch’s possession, the management wrote:
“Mr. XXX (names withheld), when u (sic) are coming for dialysis on Monday, buy IVF Normal Saline to be used for ur (sic) dialysis. The office doesn’t have it. Buy like four pieces.”
Saline IVF solution is used in the treatment, control, prevention and improvement of conditions such as low sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium levels as well as blood and fluid loss.
It improves the patients’ condition by maintaining proper fluid balance and keeping tissues hydrated.
Another patient said he had a crisis recently because the centre cancelled his routine dialysis. He said the centre’s management cancelled the session because of non-availability of bloodline.
He also showed a message sent to him on the cancellation.
The patient said the first time the session was cancelled, he was referred to a private hospital in Garki where he paid N20,000.
