The Medical Director of the Federal Neuro-psychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Lagos, Dr Olugbenga Owoeye, has revealed that the hospital’s emergency unit receives between 25 and 30 new patients every day in 2025.
He further stated that on clinic days, which run on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, the 535-bed facility attends to between 400 and 500 patients.
Owoeye, who disclosed this in an exclusive interview with PUNCH Healthwise, attributed the threefold increase from previous years to increased awareness, reduced stigmatisation of mental health conditions and decreased fear of seeking treatment at psychiatric facilities occasioned by the hospital’s regular public education programmes and social media presence.
“In our emergency, on a daily basis, we see close to 25 to 30 new cases. Before, it used to be like seven to 10, but there has been a kind of increase,” he said.
The medical director further noted that the hospital, formerly stigmatised with the derogatory nickname “Yaba Left,” has transformed its public image through awareness campaigns and improved facilities.
“People are no longer afraid or concerned to come to the hospital. Before, they used to call us Yaba Left, but now, people feel free to drive in. You can see the hospital is cool, it’s serene, and it’s neat,” Owoeye said.
He stated that while there was 100 per cent hospital admission in 2025, the industrial action by resident doctors and the Joint Health Sector Unions had affected service delivery at the hospital. While resident doctors had resumed, JOHESU members remained on strike, preventing the facility from operating at full capacity.
Despite the challenges, the hospital recorded minimal mortality rates, losing fewer than three patients throughout the year.
“People don’t really die from mental illness. In the whole of this year, we didn’t lose up to three patients on admission. Unlike in some hospitals that record it almost every day,” Owoeye said.
He further revealed that one in four Nigerians suffers from one form of mental illness or another.
According to the outgoing President of the Association of Psychiatrists in Nigeria, Mr Taiwo Obindo, over 60 million Nigerians currently suffer from mental illnesses.
Rendering an account of his stewardship between 2021 and 2025, the FNPH MD said, “This administration set out to transform the hospital into a one-stop mental healthcare facility of international standard, capable of addressing all aspects of mental health without the need for patients to seek care abroad.”
He added his administration focused on strengthening clinical governance, infrastructure development and modernisation, staff welfare and capacity building, creation of a safe, functional and aesthetically pleasing work environment, adoption of technology to enhance real-time service delivery and attraction of grants and donations to support research activities.
As a result, Owoeye said, “The hospital has been adjudged one of the top-performing healthcare institutions in the country following official assessments by the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria and performance index studies conducted by relevant oversight bodies.”
He further noted that the promotion of research and ethics in the past four years has earned the hospital a formal accreditation as a Health Research Ethics Centre by the National Health Research Ethics Committee of Nigeria.
The MD stated that staff and patient welfare remained a central priority, noting that financial assistance was given to critically ill staff members, while the hospital improved provision of safe, hygienic, therapeutic environments and subsidised quality meals for patients.
The medical director praised the federal government’s commitment to mental health, noting that Nigeria now has 10 neuro-psychiatric hospitals compared to seven before President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
“Before this administration of our president, Ahmed Bola Tinubu, we used to have seven psychiatric hospitals. Now, we have 10 neuro-psychiatric hospitals in Nigeria. So, meaning that in another two years, we will have an additional three or four, which will make mental health services accessible to people,” he stated.
Owoeye commended increased budgetary allocations to mental health institutions, which have enabled infrastructure development projects across the sector.
He disclosed that the federal government recently completed a 100-bed nursing student hostel facility for the hospital’s College of Nursing Sciences, which specialises in psychiatric nursing education.
“The federal government just built a 100-bed nursing student hostel facility for us. It’s completed now with all the equipment inside. We are just waiting for the commissioning,” he said.
Outlining his priorities for the new four-year term, Owoeye emphasised complete digitalisation of hospital operations, including full deployment of electronic medical records supported by an uninterrupted power supply.
He highlighted plans to enhance manpower training, noting that the hospital currently trains over 70 resident doctors under the supervision of approximately 25 consultant psychiatrists.
“We are going to enhance and upgrade our training to produce more psychiatrists, to produce more psychiatric nurses, and to produce more occupational therapists,” he stated.
On infrastructure, Owoeye revealed that the hospital’s outpatient clinic under construction will feature over 36 consulting rooms, enabling multiple patients to see doctors simultaneously.
“By the time our outpatient clinic is fully completed, it will be the best of its kind in Nigeria. We are going to have over 36 consultancy rooms in that building alone,” he said.
The medical director also announced plans to launch Nigeria’s first comprehensive telepsychiatry centre, allowing patients to download an app and connect with doctors remotely.
“You don’t need to come to the hospital to access us. All you need to do is download our app, and then connect with us. You can see your doctor through your phone, and your doctor can see you through the gadget in front of the doctor,” Owoeye explained.
On staff management, Owoeye emphasised excellent relations between management and workers, noting regular promotions and annual recruitment to offset the impact of medical professionals migrating abroad.
“The relationship between the staff and management has been excellent. All their welfare packages, all their promotion will come regularly. And then we’ll also make sure that we recruit on a yearly basis so that those who are leaving the country will not affect the service,” he stated.
He explained that the hospital employs new staff annually to replace those who emigrate, ensuring adequate staffing levels despite the “Japa syndrome.”
“If we employ 10 staff now, and three leave, we’ll have seven. Next year we’ll employ another 10. Five leaves, we’ll see up to five. So we’ll be up seven, making 13. That’s the way we’ll be operating on a yearly basis. The Japa syndrome has not really affected our hospital,” Owoeye said.
The medical director called on the media to continue supporting efforts to fight mental health stigmatisation and promote awareness that mental illness is treatable like any other medical condition.
Culled from the Punch Newspapers
