Student Exposes Rot At The Dentistry Department Of College of Medicine At The University Of Lagos

A student of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) who decided to be anonymous for the fear of victimization, has revealed the infrastructural decay that has become of the dental department in UNILAG college of medicine.

She said this in a video and audio clips obtained by Saharareporters.
In the audio recording, she exposed how ethical decadence on the part of Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) management and lack of dental equipment continue to inflict hardship on the students and also expose the patients to the risk of getting further infections.
“The dental clinic is enough for you to get infected, the place is dirty and disgusting. The chairs are old and do not work. Apart from the fact that the chairs are inadequate, they are not swiped in-between patients” claiming that patient take turn on the chair without properly disinfecting it after patient leaves before clamping another patient on it.
The doctors use one face mask for all the patients for a day. That is the fastest way to get an infection, she said.
The video also captured rusty equipment and the dirty environment where dental procedures are carried out.
According to the student, the epileptic power supply has made it almost impossible to use the electric dental chair, hence procedure are done with the either of the two mobile units available to over 60 students in both 500 level and 600 level.
However, the dental chairs with many nonfunctional parts suddenly become available only when officials of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) are in the clinic for accreditation.

Video of LUTH: Medical College Where Students Pay Hospital Bills To Qualify For Exams

LUTH: Medical College Where Students Pay Hospital Bills To Qualify For Exams LUTH: Medical College Where Students Pay Hospital Bills To Qualify For Exams “When they hear MDCN is coming, they only show what they want them to see...doing quick fixes here and there and encourage students to pretend that all is well. The clinic gets painted, looking very bright.
She added that students are forced to pay for patient’s dental procedure so that they can perform clinical which is one of the very important criteria that must be met before any student can graduate.
“Most of the materials for these procedures are provided by the students themselves even after the patient has paid. You hear things like no glove, no face mask, no prophylaxis paste, no cup, no local aesthetics just to name a few...we still get to buy out of our pockets” she said.
The students, she added, also provide their source of illumination during procedures, with some relaying of phone flash lights, adding that many patients leave unattended. “When patients come to the hospital, they are forced to go back, and they do not return”.
On the epileptic power supply, she alleged that the clinic has no alternative source of power which renders the clinic inactive most of the time.
She said in the recording; “Anyone who has been to this place knows there is no electricity and there is no generator to power the dental clinic. The dental clinic needs electricity to function. No electricity in a dental room is as good as an empty room.”
Going further, she claimed that when students complain about the power situation; lectures simply say; “other people have struggled through this, we even struggled through this, so you can also do it”.
She then called on all stakeholders in the health sector to come to the aid of the fast collapsing health care not only in LUTH but across the country.