Senate approves FMC Gombe, to gulp N1.1b

Senate on Tuesday passed into second reading a bill seeking to establish the Federal Medical Centre Deba, Gombe State.

The bill, if passed into law, will require the government to shell out about N1.1 billion for the hospital to begin operation.

The passage of the bill was sequel to a debate on its objectives, led by the sponsor, Danjuma Goje.

According to Senator Goje, the bill seeks to establish a medical centre that will provide facilities for diagnosis, preventive, curative and rehabilitative service in medical treatment as well as provide medical training.

Leading debate on the bill, Goje said the legislation is in response to the cries of his constituents, women and children who are in dire need of well-equipped healthcare centers.

He added that the move to establish the FMC was informed by the need to bridge the existing gap among primary, secondary healthcare and tertiary healthcare delivery in Gombe State and Nigeria as a whole.

He said “Communicable diseases have continued to ravage communities due to distance between the communities and tertiary health care institutions.

“Patients cannot Specialist hospitals where their ailments can be properly diagnosed and adequate treatment given.

“This unfortunate situation has also compounded the challenge of maternal and infant mortality.”

At the end of the debate on the bill, Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, noted that the tertiary health institution would complement the effort of health facilities.

The Senate President therefore referred the bill to the Senate Committee on Health (Secondary and Tertiary).

The committee is to submit the report in four weeks.