FG to strengthen capacity, respond to health threats

Ini Billie, Uyo

The Federal Government has said it is ready to strengthen capacity and respond to health threats in the country.

The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Emmanuel Ehanire revealed this on Saturday during the commissioning of projects at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, Uyo.

The projects commissioned include a molecular laboratory complex, a new Oxygen Plant, a patient’s clinic complex and a medical outpatient’s clinic. Surgical outpatient’s clinic, Orthopaedic outpatients clinic, Genealogy, Pharmacy/Laboratory unit, Radiology complex, and renovated and re-equipped intensive care complex all funded by the federal government under COVID-19 funds.

The Minister who expressed satisfaction with the management of the hospital compared the trajectory of development in the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital to that of one of the frontline hospitals in India.

He said the commissioned projects proved that the federal government is committed to the provision of modernly equipped health care centres to citizens in fulfilment of its mandate to Nigeria.

“Your projects here were carried out during COVID-19, and the infrastructure that you have invited us to commission today is commendable and I praise the CMD, Chairman of the board and the entire team for their leadership, foresight and dedication.

“All these projects have the federal government backing and were meant to improve lives and address public health threats which Nigerians faced constantly as well as assist in preventing infectious diseases.

“These commissioned projects have the capacity to respond to all health threats. We are informed of an ongoing project and we believe that all these have the potential to improve the quality of diagnostic and therapeutic services offered by the UUTH,” he stated.

Speaking on brain drain in the nation’s health sector, the Minister assured that the Federal Ministry of Health has now introduced a one-to-one policy that would now allow a Chief Medical Director to make an immediate replacement of a doctor or nurse who is permanently out of service.

“This policy is to enable the federal government to address gaps in manpower in the health sector in the federal civil service. CMDs should be careful not to abuse this policy as this has thwarted the process when newly introduced where one doctor leaves and the management brought in a dozen unrelated persons which overcrowded the hospitals,” he said.

While speaking, the Chief Medical Director, University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, Prof Ememabasi Bassey said the infrastructural renaissance in the Teaching Hospital came through his initial assessment on the assumption of office four years ago.

Bassey said it throw up indications that the hospital had not kept pace with the expected transition in the tertiary healthcare sector.

“When we took over, we undertook the first line of assessment of the hospital to identify all the challenges and proffer solutions and then set up a new mission and vision for the hospital.

“Hon. Minister Sir, today you will be commissioning a number of projects in the hospital which include; the molecular laboratory complex, one is for the HIV programme and the other was funded by the federal government as part of the COVID-19 intervention funds.

“New Oxygen Plant which was donated by the federal ministry of health, patient’s clinic complex, this complex holds all outpatients clinic which contains; the general outpatients clinic, the medical outpatient clinic, the surgical outpatient clinic, the Orthopaedic outpatients’ clinic, Genealogy, Pharmacy/ Laboratory unit, all in this complex, Radiology complex, renovated and re-equipped intensive care complex, this was also funded by the federal government under COVID-19 funds.

“Others are two new ambulances which are our demonstration of readiness to support the National emergency medical ambulance scheme, Hospital Gatehouse /security post which a few years ago was not a good reflection of a teaching hospital, internal roads which are funded by the hospital management in partnership with FEMA, expansion of water complex capacity to over two hundred thousand litters, we are grateful to the federal government.

“As a matter of policy, this administration did not embark on new projects until we complete or taken to an advanced stage all abandoned projects on ground.

“Today you will also inspect other new projects which include the laboratory complex which is almost completely constructed, the stroke centre, donated by a foundation in collaboration with the hospital, the infection isolation and treatment centre built by the NCDC, and the newly constructed antenatal building extension,” the CMD said.