To function at an optimum level and experience a complete turnaround, the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, requires about N100 billion says Abiodun Otegbayo, chief medical director (CMD)
Otegbayo said the amount the hospital requires is humongous because of the facilities at the teaching hospital had decayed and needed massive resuscitation.
Addressing newsmen to commemorate the 62nd anniversary of the hospital, the new CMD said “to turn UCH around, we won’t need less than N100 billion, the hospital is overstretched and overwhelmed.
“We need the secondary tier of the hospital to be up and doing and it is in the purview of the state governments. Until the state governments wake up to their responsibilities and resuscitate the primary and secondary health care, our facilities and personnel will continue to be overstretched and overwhelmed,” said Otegbayo.
According to Otegbayo, people naturally will go to a place where they will get the best care; our clinics are congested and there is no way UCH can accommodate all but we will continue to do our best.
He said that within the short period of assumption of office, all undue bureaucracies that inhibit effective running of the system and kill initiatives have been removed.
“Operations are now seamless from the management to the departments and staff members.
“Unlike in the past, services are greatly improving at the hospital, the clinics and other treatment centres in the hospital are now being made comfortable for patients and visitors alike”, the CMD stated.
Saying funding has been a major challenge, he listed equipment, water, power supply, workers training and infrastructure as the top facilities the hospital is currently in dire need of.
“It has been intriguing how we get money to run the hospital. We pay huge sums of money for the supply of electricity, buying diesel, do our generators and yet we must meet the yearnings of our teeming patients,” Otegbayo said.
The CMD, however, said his administration has been able to raise a team of influential Nigerians to be on the Board of Trustees of a foundation named Oritamefa Health Foundation.
“The foundation will be run by an independent body and it will be charged with the responsibility of raising funds for the provision of vital equipment needed to improve services and facilities in the hospital.
While however calling on wealthy Nigerians, corporate organisations and non-governmental organisations to consider UCH as a point where their generosity can be extended to state that “it is not possible for the government to provide all the needed funds and infrastructure to adequately address the needs of the hospital.”
Otegbayo, therefore, disclosed that the hospital will be giving awards to some individuals and corporate organisations in recognition of the contributions they have made to UCH.
He mentioned some of the achievements of his administration since assumption of office to include: renovation of Otunba Tunwase Children Emergency Ward; donation of dialysis machine by Pastor Enoch Adeboye; construction and equipping Cash & Carry Pharmacy and commissioning of the UCH-RAD-AID Pictorial Archiving Communication System (PACS) reporting room for the training of Radiologists in West Africa amongst others.
