By Dennis Agbo

ENUGU- GOVERNOR Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State has approved that a Directorate of Physiotherapy should be created in the state ministry of health so as to boast medical services in all parts of the state, particularly at the primary and secondary health care centers that lacked the services of Physiotherapists.

Governor Ugwuanyi made the approval when a group of Enugu North Physiotherapists in Support of the Governor’s 2023 senatorial bid visited him at Enugu government house, during the weekend.

The Governor immediately detailed his Chief of Staff, Dr. Festus Uzor to ensure that the Directorate is created in the state ministry of health and directed his deputy Chief of Staff, Prof. Malachy Okwueze, to immediately ensure that Physiotherapy becomes part of the take-off of the new State University of Medical Sciences (SUMAS) Igbo-Eno, whose Vice Chancellor, Prof. Chukwuma Ogbonna was recently appointed for immediate take-off of the new medical school.

The Physiotherapists’ group leader, Christopher Eze and deputy, Longinus Ossai, accompanied by Prof. Charles Ezema of the University of Nigeria Enugu Campus and Chijioke Ezeugwu of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, UNTH, and over 30 other physiotherapists told Governor Ugwuanyi that under the international best practices, specialist health care and training requires physiotherapy, but was conspicuously omitted in the recently released health professionals for the state health facilities.

“This serious omission would not have occurred if we had a directorate of physiotherapy in the ministry of Health, Enugu state. We therefore humbly request that you use your good office to create a directorate of physiotherapy in the ministry of health, include physiotherapy in the list of health professionals for employment in the state specialist hospital Igbo-Eno as these policy actions will help in health planning and administration,” the Physiotherapists requested.

The team leader, Christopher Eze stated that physiotherapists manage geriatric patients, orthopedic cases, neurological conditions; engage in preventive, curative and rehabilitative therapies.

“We want to use the opportunity of the Directorate to reach patients in the villages who need our services but are not here in the health centers, cottage and General hospitals. In the health centers, some children are born with defects that require physiotherapy services to take care of them.

“We are grateful for the Governor’s directives to the ministry of health and to the new medical school at Igbo-Eno and we promise to work with the Governor using Medical Alliance for Good Governance with which we had engaged in free medical outreach in Enugu North Senatorial zone since September 2021 to campaign for his senatorial bid and the party he represents,” Eze pledged.