Increase budgetary allocation for improved medical services, health security – CMD

Lara Adejoro

The Chief Medical Director of the Federal Medical Centre, Jabi, Abuja, Professor Saad Ahmed, has urged the Federal Government to increase the budgetary allocation for the hospital to improve medical services and enhance health security in the country.

Prof. Saad said this at the official commissioning of the hospital’s ultra-modern administrative complex on Friday.

While appreciating the government and other stakeholders, he said with the provision of additional land space, the hospital can work towards other service provisions like the expansion of emergency units, trauma centre, radiotherapy, nuclear medicine services, and other high-end medical care.

He said, “We equally require some needed medical and support equipment necessary to improve patient care. These required equipment include the 1.5 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging machine, computers, networking equipment, a new 128-slice CT Scan machine, and high-end neurosurgical and ear, nose and throat equipment among others.

“We plead for increased budgetary provision to this facility as addressing these challenges can improve services and enhance health security, not just in Abuja being the nation’s capital, but also the neighbouring states.”

In his address, the Minister of State for Health, Ekumankama Nkama said the administrative complex will enhance the capacity and motivation of the administrative staff, Heads of Department, and Clinical Consultants.

Nkama also said the building will enhance accreditations of post-graduate training for the clinical departments.

“I want to seize this opportunity to inform us of other great achievements of the Medical Centre last year, which include but are not limited to the provision of highly-specialised healthcare services such as open-heart surgery, laser operations, spine surgery; the introduction of new services in the fertility centre such as oocyte freezing, peri-implantation gamete testing; significant infrastructural developments such as the construction of state-of-the-art intensive care unit, construction and equipping of 40 bedded negative pressure isolation centre, construction of Dialysis Unit out of an existing female ward extension.

“Others are improved hospital manpower through Comprehensive education and periodic training of all staff as part of capacity building to improve efficiency; expansion of the training programmes, and accreditation by the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria; enhanced research activities through the creation of research groups and annual research awards from the hospital’s administration; and the Federal Medical Centre Abuja emerged as the best public-owned hospital in the Commonwealth Nations and the Medical Director, Prof Saad Ahmed emerged Health Advocate of the year.”

Reportr Door Healthwise reports that the complex was named after the wife of the President, Mrs Aisha Buhari.