By madumere victor
The management of the Federal Medical Centre Owerri has come under fire again, over the N1,700 feeding charges for patients per day which the patients say is nothing but mere extortion and wickedness.
It will also be recalled that the striking Resident Doctors of FMC also made case on the quantity and quality of food the management gives them as one of the issues that need to be improved on.
Some of the angry patients who spoke to our reporter confirmed the exorbitant charge and expressed bitterness over such billing arguing that the management is just extorting money from helpless patients noting that the quality and quantity of the food is not proportional to their charge. “If then Resident Doctors of this hospital will complain on the quality of then food, you can their imagine the kind of chaff we are been served yet we pay exorbitant price of N1, 700” complained a patient.
Mrs Juliana Mgbeh, whose daughter-inlaw delivered at the hospital accused the hospital management of anti people. She averred that as a woman, who knows the cost of food stuff in the market the management is just maximizing profit at the detriment of their patients “I can bet my life, a plate of food served patients in FMC Owerri does not cost up to two hundred naira (N200) per meal both in quality and quantity only for the hospital to change us N1700 every day. That is wickedness and extortion” she said.
In another reaction, a patient named John lamented saying; “a plate of food within Owerri metropolis goes for between two hundred naira (200) and three hundred naira only (300)” I wondered why food is very exorbitant here when it is being subsidized in a supposed non profitable establishment like the FMC by the Federal Government” he concluded.
