Outrage as UBTH hikes medical charges

By Jethro Ibileke

Residents of Benin City, Edo State, have criticised the Chief Medical Director of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Prof. Idia Ize-Iyamu, over what they describe as an astronomical increase in hospital charges and the alleged privatisation of laboratory services at the Accident and Emergency unit and other departments.

The development followed the upward review of ward consumables and admission deposits across the hospital, conveyed in an internal memorandum dated 30 January 2026 and issued by the Office of the Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee.

The memo noted that the review became necessary in view of prevailing funding realities and the need to promote efficiency, reduce waste, and enhance the maintenance and procurement of medical consumables.

It added that the adjustments were aimed at ensuring sustainable hospital operations and improving service delivery.

Under the revised structure, the admission deposit for the Intensive Care Unit has been increased from ₦500,000 to ₦1 million, representing a 100 per cent hike in the cost of accessing critical care services at the facility, while the Labour Ward Complex deposit has been fixed at ₦200,000.

Other new admission deposits include ₦150,000 for medical wards, ₦200,000 for private wards, ₦100,000 for day case admissions, ₦150,000 for orthopaedic wards, ₦200,000 for neurology wards, and ₦150,000 for obstetrics and gynaecology wards.

In addition, ward consumables have been reviewed upwards to ₦20,000 per week for patients in the Labour and Emergency Complex, while ordinary wards will now attract ₦15,000 per week.

However, the Head of the Public Relations and Information Unit of the hospital, Osaretin Iyen, clarified that the private laboratory service engaged at the Accident and Emergency unit was introduced to complement the hospital’s existing diagnostic services.

Iyen explained that the laboratory is intended to function alongside the hospital’s laboratories to augment capacity and efficiency, and not to replace or supplant the hospital’s core laboratory services.

“Indeed, there exist over 10 functional hospital laboratories across UBTH,” the spokesman stated.

He emphasised that the decision was taken strictly in the overriding interest of patient care and safety, particularly for critically ill patients whose survival depends on immediate and uninterrupted access to laboratory investigations.

“This is especially so when there are challenges with the UBTH laboratory in the Accident and Emergency unit,” Iyen added.