A FEW days from now, the curtain will be drawn to signify the end of another era at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) Idi-Araba. We will all witness the bowing out of a medical icon and a seasoned administrator from the position of the Chief Medical Director. Prof. Akin Osibogun started the journey, which without doubt ushered in the beginning of new medical innovations and achievements, in one of the foremost tertiary hospital in the country sometimes in October 2006.

It is important to note that the hospital was in dire need of a leader when he resumed office, something that even his most vocal critics have now agreed had been a blessing not only to the hospital but to the entire healthcare delivery system in the country. I must therefore at this point thank the hospital management under the leadership of Prof. Akin Osibogun for its leadership, thoughtfulness and courage in spite of all the existing challenges noted when he came on board.

I acknowledge that for some, the glass is half full while others will prefer to say the glass is half empty. I am however convinced that we do ourselves gross injustice and harm if all we engage in is to pull our leaders down and refuse to acknowledge anyone who has made some effort. Our recent containment of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) is one example of a feat for which we should all  congratulate President Goodluck Jonathan and Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, but not too many commendations have come locally.

The consolation is that Nigeria has been commended by the United Nations and its organs including the World Health Organization. By the way, LUTH joined other agencies of government to actively participate in the efforts to contain the EVD. Its diagnostic facilities and contact tracing staff were put at the disposal of the Emergency Operations Centre from where Control activities were directed.

I will make an attempt to enumerate briefly some of the remarkable feats recorded by the Hospital under the leadership of this seasoned administrator, academician per excellence and a teacher of teachers, during his sojourn at this great institution of medical excellence. It is important to compare what was on ground when he took over the mantle of leadership from the Interim Administrator in 2006 with what is available in the hospital today so as to have a balanced and unbiased appraisal.

The hospital during his tenure had not only added value to its existing infrastructure but also provided many more structures to facilitate the provision of qualitative health care services for the Nigerian populace and effective training of the hospital’s personnel, notable among these include the construction of a new children casualty building and Accident & Emergency spill-over block ; the building of the Biomedical Engineering school complex; the building of new operating theatres (K-block) bringing the total number of operating rooms to 17 which is the highest in any centre in the country; the provision of a world class surgical skill centre for medical postgraduate training in collaboration with the West African College of Surgeons; the establishment of a Resuscitation Training Centre to ensure appropriate training of staff in Life support techniques; the provision of a standard molecular biology laboratory and the provision of a standard colposcopy centre for secondary screening of women with suspected cervical diseases; the maintenance of the Linear Accelerator centre for the treatment of cancer cases; the re-introduction and modernisation of In-Vitro fertilization Services to assist couples seeking to have their own children; the building of three new state of the art Resident Medical Officers (RMO) blocks and the building of mini-flats for the junior staff.

Endoscopic services were re-introduced into the Hospital after a 15-year interregnum and in the last two years over 700 patients have benefitted from gastrointestinal endoscopic investigations alone. Simultaneously, laparascopic services have been introduced and patients now benefit from the advantages of Minimally Invasive or Pin Hole Surgery. These services also provide opportunities for human capital development for Nigerian professionals.

The first Renal Transplantation procedure at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital was performed in July 2011. In July 2014, three patients had Open Heart Surgery performed at the Hospital for the very first time bringing the Hospital into the league of the few Nigerian Hospitals with capability to perform this highly specialised surgical intervention.

Another Renal Transplantation was simultaneously carried out in July 2014. By providing these services, the Hospital is contributing to a reduction in the need for Nigerians to travel abroad on Medical Tourism. Nigeria, in fact will soon become the destination of choice for medical tourism if these legacies at LUTH are sustained.

Under his leadership, the Hospital Management has invested in staff development. Members of staff in teams were sent for training in Egypt, Germany, India, Italy and United States. Some of these teams have been active in the Renal Transplantation Programme, the Cardiac (Open Heart) Programme, Laparoscopic Services and the imminent Bone Marrow Transplant Programme.

Meanwhile, the Hospital through a partnership agreement with the Italian Mediterranean Institute for Haematology, has been able to facilitate the Bone Marrow Transplant for some 30 Nigerian children suffering from Sickle Cell Disease.

Many of the rehabilitation and upgrading works embarked on include that of the existing operating theatres in the hospital, all the male & female wards, the Accident & Emergency unit, staff medical services unit, Radiodiagnosis department and the hospital morgue at the Morbid Anatomy department.

I am tempted to go on and on , but we his students ( though we are now Consultants in our own rights) remain grateful to him for his selflessness, focus and leadership.

Dr. K.S. Okunade, a  consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist, works with LUTH, Lagos.