The Federal Medical Centre in Jabi, Abuja, is seeking the expansion of its infrastructure due to the surge in patients, revealing the inadequacy of its current building infrastructure and facilities.
The Chief Medical Director (CMD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the hospital, Prof. Saad Ahmed, has said that in 2020, the monthly outpatient count at the hospital ranged from 5000 to 6000, in contrast to the current figure of 20,000 outpatients per month.
He said the surge in outpatient numbers, according to the CMD, is exerting pressure on both facilities and the workforce.
The CMD made the plea during a visit to the hospital premises by the Senate Committee on Health, led by its Chairman, Sen. Banigo Ipalibo, as part of the Committee’s oversight visit.
Highlighting the importance of optimal service delivery at the FMC, Ahmed explained that allocating additional land, especially the area adjacent to the hospital, would facilitate the construction of new departments and expand the hospital’s capacity for service delivery.
He pointed out the presence of only one chemotherapy suite for cancer treatment, emphasising the necessity for a bunker-like structure to install linear accelerators for handling cancer cases, which the hospital currently lacks.
Acknowledging the capital-intensive nature of equipment like the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine, Ahmed informed the lawmakers that the allocated budget for the hospital might not cover its purchase. However, he highlighted ongoing advocacy efforts to secure additional funding for acquiring such equipment.
Expressing concern over the potential hindrance to optimal service delivery resulting from such a shortage, the CMD also appealed for an increase in the budgetary allocation for the medical centre.
He welcomed the lawmakers’ oversight visit, expressing appreciation for the opportunity it provided to address the challenges faced by the institution, saying, “The Senate Committee on Health’s oversight visit will enable them to see what we do and also see what challenges we are facing so that they can interface and solve some of those issues.
“I will say for the surgeries that we have the equipment to do them. The only thing is that we need to expand to provide more services.
“With regards to manpower issues, it is a global challenge, but the Federal Minister of Health, the National Assembly, and also the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation are trying to see how this can be made seamless so that even if others go, we will be able to replace it in no time.
“Equally in the area of increasing the workforce, the Federal Minister of Health is focusing on training institutions to see how they can increase their capacity based on the specialists that we have on the ground and the equipment that can accommodate that.
However, he informed the committee that the hospital was not falling behind in residency training.
In seeking the hospital’s audit report, the Committee expressed concerns about the insufficient equipment, specifically highlighting the presence of only one MRI machine, which could impact service performance.
The Committee also urged the hospital to reconsider the remuneration of its resident doctors, noting that their payment structure, not managed by the hospital, might affect the level of service delivery they provide.
YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
COP28 delegates: Invest in production, not frivolities, Peter Obi knocks Tinubu
Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general elections has reacted to the long list of delegates that travelled with…
I studied for seven hours daily for four years — ACU best graduating student
To attain great academic success, the best-graduating student at Ajayi Crowther University for the 2022–2023 academic session, Susanna Akinteye, has…
CBN will freeze your accounts if you don’t link your BVN-NIN
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said that all accounts without the Bank Verification Number (BVN) and…
How housewives are coping with exorbitant cost of pepper
YEJIDE GBENGA-OGUNDARE reports that in addition to significant increase in cost of food items, many Nigerian homes that…
Service chiefs on national security
SPEAKING at the Green Chamber when he led service chiefs to address parliamentarians on pertinent security issues last week, the Chief of…
Gusau outlines 2030 vision for Nigeria football development
President, Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Ibrahim Musa Gusau, has outlined his plan for…
