…As mgt begins outstanding scholar lecture series

By Steve Oko

Gov. Alex Otti has declared that it is either the Abia State University Teaching Hospital, ABSUTH, is made to rank among the world best or be closed down.

Commissioner for Health, Dr Ngozi Okoronkwo, who disclosed this while speaking at the maiden edition of the Outstanding Scholar Lecture series of the institution in Aba, weekend, quoted the Governor as saying that transforming the teaching hospital into a global best will be one of the legacies of his administration.

The Commissioner who said that the current facelift at the institution was just an emergency intervention to enable it regain its lost accreditation, hinting that a full and holistic intervention is underway.

She said that their mandate from the Governor was to transform the institution into a centre of excellence or shut it down, but added that they had no choice but to make it work again.

” What Nigeria needs is the right leadership. The Governor told me that it’s either ABSUTH is made a centre of excellence or we close it.

” He directed that we should bring in the right people and make this institution globally acceptable. The Governor doesn’t want stories.

” So, the things you see here today were just an emergency intervention that we needed to make because of the accreditation season last year. The institution had lost accreditation for so long and it had outstanding students who had not graduated.

” But thank God we did it, and the lost accreditation has been regained. What you saw was the starting point. We worked with existing and limited budget last year.

” But now, we have our own budget. We will sit down and restructure this institution into world best. We will identify areas of utmost importance, and development strategy for both infrastructural development and training”.

The Commissioner who disclosed that the hospital had been witnessing increase in number of patients since the intervention, hinted at plans by the State Government to engage more personnel and re-equip the hospital.

“Since this intervention, there has been increase in the number of patients and we have set up internal structure to help out. We want to increase the number of staff and bring in equipment.

” This is an institution that trains doctors and health workers, so we have to put it in order. Before we begin to bring in the equipment, we have to ensure that the experts to man them are on ground. So, these are the things to expect here in the months ahead.

” Our vision and mandate is to make ABSUTH have a global touch”, she declared.

Dr Okoronkwo also said that efforts were being intensified to clear the arrears of doctors’ salaries that accumulated in the previous administrations, assuring that as soon as pension arrears of Abia workers are liquidated, “next will be the arrears of health workers’ salaries”.

The Commissioner encouraged doctors and medical students to focus on research to help bring solution to so many medical challenges of humanity.

Delivering a lecture entitled:”Networking in the Life of sn Academic”, a Professor of Nephrology , Professor Ifeoma Ulasi of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, UNTH, Enugu, urged doctors to embrace network to broaden their scope and knowledge base.

Stressing the numerous benefits in networking with other people especially those relevant to ones field and career, Professor Ulasi also encouraged doctors to build online presence and engage in publications.

Earlier in a remark, the Acting Chief Medical Director, CMD, of ABSUTH, Associate Professor John Chikezie, said that the new lecture series w as aimed at rejuvenating the vibrancy associated with the institution, and in recognition of the progress so far recorded under the Otti administration.

” By instituting this series, we have sought to promote excellence via key resource persons who have made extraordinary strides in the field of medicine and health care generally”, he said.

He said the project was intended to ignite the spirit of enterprise and scholarly excellence among doctors and other personnel of the institution.

The CMD commended Gov Otti for his zest in restoring critical infrastructure in the institution which he said, had made ABSUTH to bounce back to its glory days.

He also commended the Commissioner for Health for her uncommon commitment to the transformation of the institution and the entire health sector in the state.

In a remark, the immediate-past Chairman of the Nigeria Medical Association, NMA, Abia State, Dr Chimezie Okwuonu, described the  lecture series as a laudable innovation that would help place the institution on the global map of scholarly excellence.

He commended the management for the vision, and urged that it be sustained.

The former NMA boss also commended the State Government for its intervention that had resulted into the on-going transformation in the institution, and  urged that it be also sustained.

The lecture was massively attended by medical personnel and students of the institution.