*Approves 50% electricity subsidy for public hospitals
By; IBRAHIM ADAMU, Kaduna.
Nigeria’s Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Tunji Alausa has on Wednesday, commissioned Lawal Jafaru Isa Emergency Complex Electronic Health Record and Alternative Power Supply and Professor Abdulkareem Jika Yusuf Solar Powered Borehole with 10.2 KVA inverter linked to Dialysis Center, disclosing that a bill is underway for upgrading of Federal Neuro Psychiatric Hospital to a specialist medical center.
According to him, “we are going to change the names of our Federal Hospitals to Specialist Hospitals to expand care delivery and destigmatize the hospital so that all categories of patients can come here, though the core services will still be psychiatric, but then, changing the nomenclature gives them the liberty to continuously expand the services.”
Dr. Alausa while expressing confidence on the Medical Director of Federal Neuro Psychiatric Hospital (FNPH), Dr. Aishatu Yusha’u Armaya’u, said success in the hospital is a testimony to what President Bola Ahmed Tinubu promised Nigerians during his campaign to prioritize health needs of citizens.
At the National Eye Care Centre, Kaduna, the Minister commissioned Dr. G.O Adejor Optical Show Room and Dr. M.B Alhassan Diagnostic and Laser Unit.
Earlier, the Health Minister for State who announced 50% Electricity subsidy for public hospitals maintained that the ongoing warning strike by doctors across Nigeria is complicating issues for the release of the kidnapped doctor from Eye Centre, Dr. Ganiyat Popoola.
On mass exodus of medical staff to other nations of the world, he announced a strategy on engaging medical personnel in the diaspora by making health facilities and conditions of service attractive, assuring that motivation would be the watchword of Tinubu’s Health Agenda to sustain current figure of annual enrollments of 100,000 by students into science-related courses in tertiary institutions from an initial 34,000.
Earlier in her welcome speech, the acting Chief Medical Director of National Eye Center, Dr. Aminatu Abdulrahman said the facility, established in 1979 with a mandate to cater for sight challenges and also provide specialist eye care services would continue to sustain its core mandate of a training ground for manpower needs in the sector.
According to her, the hospital with 300 bed capacity is situated on 514 hectares of land and receives referrals from 36 states of Nigeria, including the Federal Capital Territory and neighbouring countries in West Africa subregion.
With a total of 640 staff – 369 (clinical) 281 (non-clinical) Dr. Abdulrahman stated that about 53,406 outpatients were attended to and 4,653 surgeries performed in 2023.
