By Sade Oguntola
The Federal Government has reappointed Professor Jesse Otegbayo as the Chief Medical Director of the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Oyo State, for another four-year term.
This was announced on Monday by the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, while inaugurating seven projects in the hospital in Ibadan.
He said the hospital under Otegbayo’s leadership should recapture its past reputation, not just as premier hospital in Ibadan, but as a leading destination for cutting edge healthcare in Africa.
The minister said President Muhammadu Buhari had laid a strong foundation upon which the health sector can continue to build resilient institutions.
“We all recall how much our nation’s health system was stressed following the COVID-19 pandemic and the commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari to do all possible to guide our nation out of the threats.
“He approved one molecular laboratory, an oxygen plant, an ICU and an Isolation Centre for all Federal Tertiary hospitals in every state in Nigeria. The establishment of these purpose-built facilities will improve the capacity to cope with the needs of our patients’ population in any public health emergency as well as in routine service delivery.
“In addition to these, a currently ongoing programme aims to add to our national cancer treatment inventory to improve access to treatment, learning and research.
“I am sure UCH, sooner than later, will also benefit from such an initiative, since the goal is continuous investment in our medical centres.
“This is to upgrade capacity and quality of care to globally competitive standards that match or surpass those of foreign countries which our citizens currently patronize,” he said.
Ehanire commended the board and management of UCH on the initiatives and milestone achievements.
In his remarks, Otegbayo said the projects symbolised the important steps President Buhari had taken over the years in repositioning the healthcare service delivery to Nigerians.
“These projects were envisioned in my strategic plan to improve clinical services to elevate the hospital from a tertiary hospital to a quaternary level, and I am delighted to witness their completion and inauguration.
He expressed optimism that the projects would “stem the tide of the much-talked-about health tourism and brain drain in the health sector due to poor working environment.”
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