Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde, has described as indispensable roles being played by the private sector led Coalition Against Covid-19 (CACOVID) in the fight against the pandemic, saying the initiative of the private sector group was well thought out.
The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Rauf Olaniyan, was speaking weekend at the handover of medical equipment worth N250 million to the state at the Saki Isolation Centre in Oyo State.
He assured that when completed, the coronavirus treatment facility in Saki area of the state would be an improvement of the one existing in Olodo area of Ibadan.
Some of the equipment include, lead ECG electrode, heavy duty apron, autoclave, auto syringe pump, biohazard bag, blood warmer, centrifuge (refrigerator), defribilators (AED) and portable ultrasound imaging.
Others are mobile digital x-ray unit, face shield, protective goggles, hospital gown, oxygen cylinders, wheelchairs, oxygen concentrator, oxygen regulators, nebuliser, kidney dish, patient multiparameter monitor, stretcher, suction devices among others.
Governor Makinde explained that the Saki Isolation Centre to be completed and Commission soon will be for both treatment and research, adding that the facility will have provision for observatory, isolation and treatment.
He thanked the CACOVID team for the initiative and donations assuring that all the facilities are to be deployed to the Saki isolation centre because of the peculiarities of the axis which serves as a border town with some neighbouring West African countries.
He said “The Saki Isolation Centre is going to be three-in-one. It will have what you call an observatory, isolation and treatment centre.
“The reason we need to have an observatory is because Saki is a border town and many people come in from different parts of the West African states, especially Burkina Faso and Benin Republic, they come in through that area.
“So, when patients come in, what we do is to create an observatory. An observatory is not available in Olodo as I speak. So, Saki is the only one that will have an observatory, an isolation and a treatment centre.
“What that means is that the bed capacity of Saki ideally should be more than that of Olodo. Saki already has a hundred capacity bed, divided into Intensive Care Unit (10), High Dependency Unit (20), General male and female ward is 70.
“But because we want to add an observatory, where patient who come in but with no symptom but have a contact and may be worried that they may have contracted the infections, what we need to do is bring them to observatory, take their samples and within 48hours get the result and decide whether they will get into isolation or go home.
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“So, Saki by all standard is going to be bigger than Olodo even though the structure is the same, but we have harnessed some areas specifically for observatory and that will take 10 extra bed.
“It will take about six weeks to put the place in shape because the Governor has approved the funding which will be utilised because we are installing all what will make the place fully functional as soon as we take off.
“We don’t want to see any Covid-19 patient dying in any part of the state. So, if we now say after all we have done in Olodo and we decide to put other structures in place in other parts of the state, is there anything wrong in that?
While appreciating the Cacovid team for the donations, Professor Temitope Alonge, former Chief Medical Director of University Teaching Hospital (UCH), Ibadan and a member of the Oyo state Task force on Covid-19, in his remarks described all the equipment donated as ‘appropriate’ for the treatment pattern being followed in the state in the fight against Covid-19.
Alonge said, “What thrilled me is that the Cacovid team took cognisance of the disease pattern that we are managing and decided to provide equipment that are appropriate. On many occasions, people have made donations that are good on paper but in terms of usefulness, probably not as good.
“But what they have done is to provide everything from the most mundane to the expensive ventilators which are all going to be utilised for the management of this disease.
“And to top it all, they brought us about 40 cylinders of oxygen, meaning for the next one year or thereabouts, there may not be need for the Saki Centre to run to Ibadan to come and collect oxygen.
“I want to assure you that the Saki centre is the only centre that is complete because the CACOVID team have also provided mobile x-ray machine and we don’t have that in Olodo or any other centre yet.”
Speaking while making the donation the CACOVID Team Lead in charge of Oyo and Osun State, Timothy Aroowogun, said the objective of donating the equipment is to “support the state government in eliminating Covid-19, help the citizens and also help the health workers to contain the pandemic in the state.”
Aroowogun assured that despite the pandemic, the CACOVID members are working tirelessly to ensure that every business interest continue seamlessly and the private sector operators remained frontline partners in the extensive measures that the Federal Government-led public and private sector partnership has taken to treat the sick and to stop the spread of Coronavirus menace in the country.
