Most Nigerian hospitals require upgrade –Oyigeya

How have you coped with the health needs of the numerous people in the state?Essentially what we have done is to develop the structures and procure world class medical equipments. We have also established new units and recruited qualitative manpower to man those areas. Generally we intend to expand the hospital and make it one […]

How have you coped with the health needs of the numerous people in the state?
Essentially what we have done is to develop the structures and procure world class medical equipments. We have also established new units and recruited qualitative manpower to man those areas. Generally we intend to expand the hospital and make it one of the best in the country; this we are doing successfully.
When this administration came on board in 2008, we had to define a plan for the administration so that it can achieve a fundamental medial service delivery for the people of Benue state. Due to the unruly state of affairs, which was compounded by capacity gap, most of the staff of the hospital were not emotionally ready to step up to the change but with time and lots of sensitizations, we were able to instill in them the need to embrace the change.
Today we can boast that the hospital is enjoying a robust working relationship in all its various units.
 How do you relate with the host communities?
Yes, we have a good working relationship and understanding with members of the host communities. They are highly supportive and I want to thank them, because without a conducive environment, we probably could not have achieved much.
  What effort did you put in place to achieve cleanliness in this hospital?
We adopted the concept that cleanliness is next to godliness and we believe that if you are a care provider, you should operate from a clean environment because if someone who is sick walks into a very clean environment, which is where the process of healing normally begin, there is a better chance of him getting well.
The environment where a sick person is being treated matters a lot. Here we understand how the sick individual feels and we try as much as possible to provide a serene, neat and clean environment for them.
 How satisfactory is the quality of staff currently in the employment of the hospital?
Yes, I am quite satisfied with the quality of staff here because we recruited the best qualified and well trained personnel to assist us in the health care delivery. As a matter of fact, we equally encourage trainings whether within or outside the country to build their capacity and they are all performing creditably.
The staff here are also well treated and supported in terms of good welfare package, so they are all happy and working very hard to ensure that we achieve our major task of providing quality service delivery.
 In terms of facilities, what can the Federal Medical Centre Makurdi bring to the table?
As at 2008, most departments/ units in the hospital had few functional equipment, even the few ones there were obsolete and electricity from public power supply was erratic and it was causing a very serious problem in the delivery of a good health service. What we did was that the management team had to come together and agree to procure and install a plant to solve the power problem; after which we also procure other medical facilities that will help in arresting the challenges of the hospital.
One thing that was key was the training of personnel that will handle these equipments. I can authoritatively tell you that Federal Medical Centre Makurdi is one hospital that has the best modern medical equipments in this sub-region in Nigeria.
 Considering the vast nature of the state, how are you able to reach out to all citizens of the state medically?
The medical centre Makurdi can be said to be 80 years old now. If you look at the land space, you will see that it is really inadequate. It started as a small out-patient clinic to provide medical attention to railway line constructors in the 1950s across River Benue. As at the time the federal government decided to take over the facility in 2005, there was no space for expansion anymore as people have built all around the hospital.
Owing to the prevailing high patronage we get from the people, the hospital was always congested and we all saw that the service delivery was becoming very embarrassing. So this administration commenced phase movement of services to Apir, the permanent site. This was the master stroke in curbing space constraints and overcrowding at the centre. We started moving the GOPD, specialist clinic, A&E, and later surgery. As we speak now, Apir offers full services to the people that are resident around there.
One significant achievement to deliver health care services to all was the establishment of outreach centres. These outreach centres, is situated in each of the three senatorial districts of the state. By the creation of these outreaches, we have been able to capture a lot of patients in the rural areas. They don’t need to come to Makurdi. To us at the centre in Makurdi, this is feat in grassroots healthcare service delivery, because healthcare has become more accessible and affordable to the rural poor.
 Where do you think Nigeria’s health system will be in the next few years?
For me, there is absolutely nothing wrong with a nation having ambition to reach the top, especially one that is blessed with abundant resources like Nigeria. Again, we must also tell ourselves the truth. We are in 2013 now, looking at most of our hospitals across the country most of which are crying for upgrade. I think by 2013 we will be close to achieving quality health service to Nigerian.