The Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), located at the Idi-Araba area of Lagos State, a full-fledged medical school and tertiary hospital, was established in July 1962. The federal medical institution was established to provide advanced medical services, train medical and other health care professionals and conduct research aimed at improving health care delivery in Nigeria.
At a point, LUTH was regarded the pride of Africa as people all over the continent came there to seek medical treatment.
In 2022, the federal medical facility clocked 60. The then Chief Medical Director (CMD), Professor Chris Bode, had disclosed that the hospital had grown from a little above 300 beds to a 1000-bed medical facility and served over 25million patients.
Bode said the hospital had pioneered small incision cataract excision surgery in Nigeria and trained over 40 doctors from all over the country in the procedure in the past years.
He added that LUTH had also commenced laparoscopic general and gynaecologic surgery, which according to him, had dramatically reduced the duration of hospitalisation after surgery.
‘Since 1962, the Lagos University Teaching Hospital has contributed in no small way in the training of medical and paramedical personnel; and our products are found across all hospitals and health care facilities, both within and outside the shore of Nigeria.
‘As an institution, LUTH has grown from a 500-bedded hospital to 760-bed, and then to over 1000-bedded hospital serving over 25million Lagosians and its neighbouring states.
‘LUTH has pioneered small incision cataract excision surgery in Nigeria and has trained over 40 doctors from all over the country in the procedure in the past years. The hospital has also commenced laparoscopic general and gynaecologic surgery, which has dramatically reduced the duration of hospitalisation after surgery.
‘LUTH also boasts of a comprehensive diagnostic centre and VIP clinic, state of the art laboratories, radiodiagnosis, radiotherapy and renal dialysis facilities. From a humble beginning of 330 beds, LUTH today is the largest teaching hospital in Nigeria with over 1,000 beds. The College of Medicine of the University of Lagos is involved in the training of hundreds of medical, dental, pharmacy and other allied health science students,’ Bode said.
Over the years, like many other things in Nigeria, LUTH has been abandoned by successive governments. Industry experts identified funding as being epileptic, amid increasing number of patients in a country where poverty is dealing a deadly blow on a huge percentage of the populace.
While physical structures are still at the same place, maintenance has been a huge headache.
LUTH grapples staff shortage, amid brain drain
The facility has been grappling with shortage of personnel following the emigration of medical doctors from the country in the past years.
In November 2023, the House of Representatives Committee on Health hinted that the challenge of workforce was already leading to shutdown of wards at LUTH. The shutdown was attributed to a severe shortage of health workers, particularly nurses and doctors, highlighting the escalating brain drain crisis affecting the renowned institution.
After an oversight visit to LUTH, the chairman of the committee, Dr Amos Magaji, expressed concern over the threat posed by the massive migration of health professionals in search of better opportunities abroad.
Magaji lamented that the operational wards had to be shuttered due to the absence of health workers, leaving the hospital struggling to meet the health care needs of its numerous daily patients.
He outlined a multifaceted approach to tackle the brain drain crisis, including interventions from university enrollment to the residency programme. While acknowledging that the issue won’t be resolved overnight, he assured that the committee is committed to implementing both short-term and long-term strategies to mitigate the impact.
The committee chairman underscored the need to examine funding, infrastructure and working conditions for health professionals in Nigeria. He recognised the sacrifices made by health workers and pledged the committee’s dedication to ensuring affordable and accessible health care for Nigerians.
‘The government has spent a lot on infrastructure, and it is visible. LUTH today is not what it was four or five years ago. It is an irony. We have modernised wards, we can’t fully operate because we lack personnel,’ the Chief Medical Director of LUTH, Prof Wasiu Adeyemo reportedly said during another round of visit by the committee in 2025.
According to him, many health workers now prefer to take jobs in Lagos State-owned hospitals or travel abroad for better remuneration and opportunities, saying the state’s staff salary can be up to N120,000 higher than federal institutions like LUTH.
Adeyemo said that during a recent recruitment exercise, only 50 per cent of the approved nurses actually reported for duty.
‘Poor accommodation, salary delay’
In July this year, resident doctors at the LUTH went on an indefinite strike over poor residential accommodation, delayed salary payment for newly employed doctors and the withdrawal of call duty meals.
The president of the Association of Resident Doctors, LUTH chapter, Dr Omogbolahan Adenuga, said industrial action began after efforts to resolve the issues failed.
The ARD president stated that the doctors were demanding the immediate completion of the renovation of the hospital’s doctors’ residential quarters, payment of salaries owed to newly employed doctors due to delay in their enrolment on the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System, and the restoration of call duty meals.
Adenuga said resident doctors had been forced to sleep in their cars and hospital lounges because the residential quarters undergoing renovation remained inaccessible for 18 months.
He noted that the prolonged delay in completing the project had worsened the welfare of doctors, many of whom travel long distances to work.
‘Doctors are sleeping in their cars and in hospital lounges while treating patients. We need the federal government to release funds so that the Chief Medical Director can complete the renovation immediately.
‘The building has been locked for almost 18 months. It has not been completed because of lack of funding. We need the government to intervene urgently and give us a timeline for the completion of the project,’ he said.
The ARD president added that doctors commuted daily from locations as far as Badagry and Ikorodu to the centre, making it difficult to resume early and remain productive during demanding clinical duties.
In May 2019, the ARD in LUTH embarked on a two-day warning strike over doctors’ shortage, unpaid salaries and victimisation of medical doctors.
Inside LUTH
Our correspondent who visited the facility observed some challenges impeding quality health care delivery at the over six decades old medical centre.
A new emergency patient who passes through Mushin en route to Idi-Araba, where the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) is located, will have to overcome the hurdles of dotted potholes, as the decrepit Agege Motor Road is becoming uncomfortable for both motorists and commuters, limiting the flow of easy traffic.
While dotted potholes might inhibit traffic, the clustered adjoining streets, jam-packed with shops, might teach the patient patience before getting to the destination.
The entrance of the hospital, painted cream and bearing the inscription ‘Lagos University Teaching and College of Medicine, University of Lagos’ boldly written, signals the building in the sprawling, high-traffic street of Akintan, relieving the patient of the stress of locating the hospital.
The identification of the hospital will usher in a glimpse of hope for treatment. However, gaining entry welcomes the patient into the litany of hassles involved in securing the right attention.
Our correspondent who visited the hospital observed that entry through the gate coming from Mushin marks a step into one of the foremost tertiary hospitals in Nigeria, established in 1962, shortly after independence in 1960.
The left turn is the path to the hospital, while a right turn leads to the College of Medicine, indicating the co-existence of the twin institutions on the premises.
The left turn is replete with structures that appear to have been abandoned for a long time. A few steps further reveal a building housing equipment that has been overgrown with grass. A further walk reveals an abandoned building where laundry takes place. The building looks neglected, and its paint has faded, a reflection of non-use.
The cylinder store building looks faded, and some of the power-transmitting sets have been overgrown with grass.
Not far from the cylinder store is a road that leads to the Department of Ear. The road is dotted with faulty bed spaces and other equipment.
Among the buildings, the accident and emergency building calls for an ’emergency’ as its paint is fading away and parts of its windows are battling for space with grass. The entrance of the building is always filled with patients either going in or exiting, as well as those waiting for their relatives and guardians to return to their respective homes.
Inside the building, one becomes aware of the surge for medical attention as patients wait patiently in turns. Our correspondent observed that the emergency unit is never silent as it is a beehive of activity involving people seeking medical attention.
The steel chairs provided for waiting patients to sit on are wobbly, while part of the white ceiling covering the room is open.
While some are inside the building, the entrance has a small space for those waiting for patients, leaving them to either stay inside their cars or find a spot somewhere around to sit.
In interviews with relatives of patients, they expressed concerns and grievances over the high cost of medical services, prolonged waiting periods for treatment and alleged poor treatment by some hospital personnel.
They appealed to the federal government and relevant authorities to urgently address the challenges confronting people seeking medical care at the public health facility.
One of the issues highlighted was the financial burden associated with accessing treatment, particularly for patients requiring surgery.
A relative of a patient, Kola Edmund, whose head and hands were resting on the rail close to the modular theatre, lamented the cost of a procedure, saying his patient was advised to budget N1.2 million.
He also expressed concern over the lengthy process involved in securing a surgery date, explaining that some patients could wait several months before undergoing surgery.
Asked how long the process had taken in one case, he said it depended on the situation, adding that it could take up to eight months.
‘Why not subsidise health? Why not subsidise education? Why not subsidise agriculture?’ he queried, while expressing concern that patients in public hospitals
continued to bear significant financial responsibilities.
‘My 11-day-old baby neglected’
In a separate account, a father identified as Aliu Babatunde accused nurses of allegedly mishandling the treatment of his baby, claiming that the family had experienced repeated delays and distress since last year.
Babatunde said that despite several visits to the hospital, the family had continued to receive instructions to return without what he considered adequate attention to the baby’s condition.
He said the baby’s neck had become swollen and alleged that hospital personnel had been unkind to the family whenever they raised concerns about the treatment.
‘Last year (2025), up to date, they are telling me to go and come back. They didn’t even care whether the baby would survive,’ he said.
He alleged that the family had been threatened with a refusal of treatment when they complained about the baby’s condition.
‘They will be chasing us as if we were dogs,’ he alleged.
Appealing to the federal government to intervene, he said: ‘Please, the federal government, help us and get into this matter. We are tired of this group of narcissists.’
He disclosed that he had spent close to N500,000 on the baby’s treatment since last year, including payments for injections and prescribed medications.
Asked whether he had experienced difficulties securing a hospital bed, he said he had been provided with one but was required to pay N10,000 daily for the space.
Family recounts ICU experience, alleges negligence
Esther Ilebani recounted an experience involving her mother’s illness, describing the difficulties the family encountered while trying to secure intensive care treatment at a public health facility.
According to Esther, her family was told that they had to wait for another patient to die before an ICU bed could become available.
She also alleged that family members had to constantly remind hospital personnel to change the oxygen supply and alert them whenever the oxygen ran out.
‘When my mum was sick and they needed an ICU, they told us to wait for one person to die. We were the ones telling them to change the oxygen when it finished,’ she said.
Expressing frustration over what she described as inadequate public health care infrastructure, she questioned the state of facilities in government-owned hospitals.
‘There are not enough adequate public facilities in these health centres, so why are they existing when they are killing more than saving lives?’ she queried.
She also criticised the cost of treatment and the attitude allegedly displayed towards patients, claiming that some general hospitals charged increasingly high fees while patients were treated as though their concerns did not matter.
‘You have to remind them of everything. The amount of negligence these doctors and nurses are showing towards patients is too sad,’ she alleged.
We are a hospital because of patients – CMD
In an interview with Weekend Trust, the Chief Medical Director, LUTH, Professor Wasiu Adeyemo, reacted to the complaints of patients over the unwelcome attitude ofstaff , describing the complaints as human beings’ reaction to what they perceived as wrong to them.
He added that the hospital records attendance of over 2000 out-patients daily in facility with 1050 bed space and over 5000 staff.
‘Complaints are normal. The moment humans don’t complain, the man is dead. We see over 2,000 patients per day. So, if somebody is complaining, you don’t take that as a representation of the hospital. He is not being fair, even in terms of data collection, analysis .People always complain,’ he said.
He added that the hospital has established measures to curb patients through complaints by creating online forms for them to channel their complaints and train the hospital staff.
‘We also spend a lot of resources training our staff. From the view of the attitude of the staff, the management cannot be everywhere and we have also noticed some of the attitude of our employees.
‘Our responsibility is that we have employed them already. What we need to do is to train them and we are doing that,’ he said.
He added that the hospital has zero tolerance for rudeness, emphasising on its social responsibility to administer healthcare to the public.
‘We discourage rudeness because really, if we do not have patients, if patients don’t come here, this facility can be called any other name, not a hospital.
‘We are a hospital because of patients and patients can be anybody. In the clinic, some of our staff are there.
‘But you know, human beings are very complex. Also, the patient also, and their relation also complex,’ he said.
On Infrastructure development, he rnoted that the federal government has invested close to N40 billion since he assumed office as the CMD in 2023.
‘Since I became the CM, the government has pumped something close to N40 billion in terms of infrastructure because essentially, we have so many problems, but there are two major problems.
Reacting to the fading paint on the wall of the Accident and Emergency (A and E) ward, he disclosed that there are ongoing construction works of another outpatient facility outside the hospital premises, saying once it’s completed, the facility would be available for use.
‘The government has given us money in the last 3 years to renovate many of those inpatient wards.
‘However, in our outpatient we see 2,000 a day.
‘We pushed from many past administrations to this administration for the government to give us money to build a new outpatient facility, and that is what the government is doing.
‘We have 256 consortiums. There is nowhere in Nigeria where you have that,’ he said.
Reacting to the shortage of staff, he said the government has increased staff salaries since February.
The government is putting a lot of money on infrastructure but people are leaving. So, the government must also make sure that that salaries are paid and the government just started that in early February.
‘Many of them are still leaving, and we told government that we still need to increase it because the question is why people are moving abroad.
‘Primarily, people may not look at that perspective. There’s one major reason why people move abroad. It’s not because Nigeria is bad. It is because there is a space there. Spaces for them.
‘If there is no space, everybody will stay here. That’s the truth.
‘There’s nothing like welfare. The only thing that is welfare is money, salary. Doctors that are leaving, it’s not because they are building houses there. No, they pay people enough for them to sort out their welfare.’ He noted.