The David Umahi Federal University Teaching Hospital, Ebonyi State has received the assurance of the Federal Government to support it towards attaining its goal of stemming medical tourism by Nigerians in search of quality healthcare.
The assurance was given to the hospital by the House of Representatives Committee on Health Institutions.
The Committee visited the hospital on Thursday as part of its ongoing legislative oversight tour of federal health institutions across the country.
Speaking to newsmen about their findings in the hospital, the Committee Chairman, Amos Magaji, who led the team, said the vision and output of the hospital were in tandem with the vision of the 10th National Assembly and that of President Bola Tinubu in redirecting medical tourism to Nigeria.
Magaji expressed deep satisfaction with the state-of-the-art infrastructure, world class medical equipment and personnel in the hospital and called on all Nigerians to take advantage of them to save the cost and inconveniences of traveling abroad for quality medical treatment.
He said: “We have toured around and have seen health facilities such as Linear Accelerators, MRI machines, the Cancer and Renal Centres and of course the dedicated medical staff, among others.
“What we have seen in this hospital is interesting.
“The vision of this centre is in line with the vision of the 10th National Assembly on advancing health institutions in this country.
“The vision of this committee is redirecting medical tourism to Nigeria and that’s what this centre is meant for, showing that it will make sure Nigerians are no longer travelling abroad for medical tourism.
“The CMD has given us the priority list of the things she needs interventions on.
“We are going back with the lists to see that this teaching hospital receives priority attention.
“One of the reasons for being here is to see things by ourselves.
“It will be part of what will form the appropriation of funds, interventions and of course yearly budgeting.”
Magaji emphasised that most of the medical equipment people travel abroad for are domiciled in the hospital, and commended the vision of the founder, who is immediate past Governor of the state and now Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi.
He added: “Aside from that, I’m calling on Nigerians, people traveling abroad, to come back here and let’s access and use these facilities.
“On our own part, we are going to do everything possible to ensure that we sustain this place, equip it more and ensure that more staff is pumped into this place.”
The lawmaker representing Zangon Kataf/Jaba Federal Federal Constituency of Kaduna State further stated that accessing quality health services within the shores of Nigeria would serve as encouragement to doctors and other medical personnel who remain in service to the nation in spite of the prevalent exodus of medical workers to foreign lands, popularly known as Japa.
The Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Prof. Uzoma Maryrose Agwu, while mentioning some of the many medical breakthroughs of the hospital within the short period of its operation so far, said the Ophthalmology Department has had series of successful pterygium eye surgeries and dozens of other successful ones.
She noted that the hospital’s neurosurgeons recently successfully performed a very complex thoracic spinal surgery and had already set a milestone record in April last year when they also successfully performed a burr hole surgery to save two critical patients who were on the point of death on arrival.
Agwu said the hospital has been able to excel in spite of the many challenging factors confronting it, including absence of steady water supply source, shortage/epileptic power supply from the public energy source and insufficient staff.
She emphasised: “The weight of our budgetary allocation is so minimal to the volume of structural and super structural facilities required to keep the Teaching Hospital afloat and sustain the existing standard as a centre of medical excellence.
“To this end, we appeal for your legislative intervention to increase our budgetary allocation and recruitment of more experienced and qualified staff to beef up the strength of personnel in our employ.”
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In an interview, the CMD expressed optimism that the visit of the legislators would produce a positive boost in the fortunes of the “newest and most proficient federal teaching hospital in the South East”.
The team was composed of the chairman, his vice, Dr. Adosola Adedayo, representing Apapa Federal Constituency, Lagos State; Hon. Martins Oke, representing Igboetiti/Uzouwani Federal Constituency of Enugu State; Committee Clerk, Akilu Abbas; and his deputy, Biyemi Taiwo.
The team later held meetings with the management of the hospital and leaders of the various trade unions in the institution, including the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives and Senior staff Association, led by Comrades Basil Eze and Peter Onyeabor respectively.
