NOUN okays FMC Bida for nursing degree

FEDERAL Medical Centre, Bida has been approved by the National Open University   of Nigeria (NOUN) to provide a sustainable medium for a bachelor’s degree training in nursing.

Disclosing this as part of his achievements during the Annual Health Week, aimed at renewing the effort of quality health care delivery on a holistic basis, chief medical director, CMD, of the centre, Dr. Alabi George Okuku, added that consultants had also been hired in the field of specialised clinical practice including hematology, histopathology, obstetrics and gyneaology, paediatics, urology, pulmanology and nephrology.

The CMD said that as an integral part of the management process, the leadership of the health institution had given support to the establishment of co-operative/thrift scheme like the Islamic Medical Association of Nigeria (IMAN). Okuku said that the health institution was forcing many challenges in the area of improving and sustaining the standard of good clinical practices as it is situated in a rural setting.

Another major challenge, the institution had had to contend  with, according to him, was in the area of equipment  which he said had suffered unprecedented breakdown because of poor power supply, saying this had led to the hospital incurring huge amount of maintenance costs.

The hospital’s staff strength is expected to rise to 983 by 2011 from its present 337 with the strategic plan put in place along with the development of the hospital’s permanent site, he disclosed.