About 17 years after it relocated from its old temporary site in Enugu urban to the permanent site in Ituku Ozalla community, also in Enugu State, the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) is set to relocate some services back to the old site.
Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the hospital, Prof. Obinna Onodugo, said that the need to effectively utilise her medical expertise and achieve efficient service delivery informed the decision to relocate some services back to the old site.
Onodugo explained to the members of the House of Representatives Committee on Health, who were on oversight function to the hospital that some emergency services would move to the rehabilitated old site to enable the hospital serve the people better.
He stated that millions of naira had been spent in renovating the structures in the old site and that the movement would soon commence. The hospital moved to the permanent site on January, 2007.
Explaining that the hospital was losing revenue and it’s catchment due to the distance and location of the permanent site, Onodugo stated that the idea would help the hospital run better.
“We have done a lot of work there and priming it for emergency services. The idea is to create a place where people in town can easily access. We have ten schools flourishing there. The moment we realise this, we will be able to compete with other hospitals town. Many people avoid this place because of the location. It is not easy to be accessed”, he said
Onodugo who added that services in the hospital had been fully automated, stressed that they had overcome their perennial water challenge by creation of a dam and water works. He, however, regretted absence of CT scan and MRI machine in the hospital, saying it was hindering treatment of specialized cases in the hospital. He said that as a way to solve security challenges, over 45 CCTV has been mounted within and outside the hospital as well as deforestation of the surroundings.
He stressed that part of her security challenges was the kidnap of the workers, stressing however that with the cameras and intervention by Enugu State government, there was more security presence in the hospital.
Chairman of the committee, Amos Magaji, had frowned at the work attitude of most Federal Government owned health institutions, saying it was encouraging movement of Nigerians to other parts of the country in search of better healthcare.
He said that the Federal Government had tried to find and provide the best of medical facilities in the hospitals, lamenting however that while hospitals owned and run by individuals with less superior equipment and expertise were flourishing that of the government with more superior facilities and manpower were inefficient.
Magaji, regretted that despite the billions of naira hospitals receive across the country, they hardly generate half of the money as revenue at the end of the year.
He called for improvement in service, saying the government was ready and prepared to do more for the healthcare sector.
