By ABUBAKAR YUSUF

The House of Representatives on Teaching Hospitals has commended the Chief Medical Director (CMD), University of Abuja Teaching Hospital (UATH) Gwagwalada, Abuja, Prof Bissala Ahmed Ekele, for his untiring effort to give the institution a facelift.

Prof Ekele who came on board as the CMD of the tertiary health institution located in the heart of Federal Capital Territory FCT in June 2017, came at a time the hospital was faced with a lot of operational challenges.

This ranged from inadequate staffing both professionals, academics and medical area a well as dearth of infrastructures in the over three decades Institution.

The Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology few months after settling down for the first four year term, articulated the problems and proffered solutions to them, having defied solutions overtime.

He ensured and combined both the physical, professional and managerial problems are provided immediate solutions, through combined approach towards the continuous development of the flagship health facility in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The CMD prioritized and attracted senior medical personnel to resolve medical problems/ attention and improve on research into new areas to sustain the current tempo.

Many professors of Medicine joined the hospital both on full appointment, leave of absence, sabbatical, transfer of service and contract as well as appointment of both fresh and intermediate medical personals to the health institution.

The physical development, face-lifts, renovations and mass rehabilitation of obsolete facilities of the hospital through beautification of the environment, as well as repositioned of security personal to protect the public utilities provided by the new management.

Hence, the elation of the House of Representatives committee on Teaching Hospitals knew no bound during an oversight function to the institution in March this year, to see to the day today running of the health institution located in the Federal Capital Territory FCT Abuja.

The team led by its Chairman, Dr Paschal Chigozie Obi, (Ideato Norht, South Federal constituency, Imo State) expressed satisfaction with the level of infrastructural, physical and administrative exploits in the hospital.

The committee was particularly impressed with the ongoing renovations, expansion and remodeling of most of the facilities of the hospital due for replacement.

“The entrance to the administrative block of the teaching hospital was an indication that there is a serious business going on here in Gwagwalada, with a robust management,” he explained.

“The recovery of the first and second floor of the Trauma Centre leased out to a company by the current management under Professor Bissala was a show of good leadership with high acumen.

“We are not aware of efforts of the Chief Medical Director to recover the entire building through a well thought out arrangement with the leasee, as the National Assembly passed a resolution for the reversal of the lease arrangement.

“The most encouraging scenario here according to the committee was that all the floors are not left empty, but utilised by many departments of the hospital from Eye clinic, Burns and Plastics, other critical departments of the hospital.

“In fact, the provision of accommodation for first line health workers responsible for the management, treatment of COVID-19 was another major befitting decision that has solved accommodation problems that will also make them not vulnerable to the sickness.”

While inspecting the Infectious Disease Centre IDC, new Accident and Emergency Unit (A&E) released temporarily as COVID Isolation Centre, and the Mental Health Department under construction, the committee expressed satisfaction with the level of job execution that had defied abandoned projects in the health institution.

In his words, “What I have observed in the last few hours of our oversight functions, is that no ongoing projects is abandoned in University of Abuja Teaching Hospital UATH, that alone was a right step in the right direction.”

The committee saluted the courage of the management of the health institution for working day and night in precluding the spread of COVID-19 pandemic not only in FCT, North Central, but the entire country.

While meeting with the management of the hospital after the oversight, the committee commended the CMD for budget discipline, nominal role compliance and 100% utilisation of annual budget.

“Despite the paucity of funds, we are deeply impressed by the utilisation of the available annual budget, strict compliance with the IGR through online payment, gradual migration of the activities of hospital through hitech online platform, particularly medical records, laboratory, pharmacy and others that are in the pipeline.

“We are not unaware of the strict compliance with the nominal roles of the institution with a manageable staffers, as efforts are already concluded to increase the annual budgetary allocations by 300%.

“The prudent management of resources available at the peak of COVID-19 pandemic that ravaged the entire world in the last one year, compared to the developmental strides of the leadership in the hospital is quite impressive.

“We urged the management to use the new platform to improve on the revenue generation in the hospital and block more leakages simultaneously through the online platform of payment.'

“The decision of the Management to migrate from manual to online platform of payment of all its services is the best thing that will happen to the medical community, as a lot of activities of the hospital revolved around services and payments,” the committee said,

It resolved at the end of the visit to pass a vote of confidence on the leadership of the health institution, for carrying out an all-inclusive decision that repositioned the age long tertiary health institution, while they called on the federal government for more attention to the hospital for more development in all areas.

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