“More funding will boost healthcare delivery”- Medical Director 

 By Sekinat Salam-Opebiyi, Abeokuta

The Nigerian government has been implored to increase allocation to the health sector in order for the populace to benefit from improved healthcare delivery and to match healthcare system of developed countries.

The Medical Director, Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta,Professor Adewale Musa-Olomu, gave the advice during an interview with Voice of Nigeria.

He explained that the challenges confronting the sector could be corrected with adequate funding and better remuneration for healthcare workers, which would in turn curb medical flight of health personnel, who seek greener pastures abroad.

“Let me first commend the federal government for their tremendous support, especially this present administration has been so kind and magnanimous to federal tertiary health centres. We need more funding, once we are well funded and the health workers are well paid, the tendencies of going  abroad for greener pasture will stop.

“ You cannot say that our doctors are not well trained; if they are going abroad and they are being absorbed, if they are not well trained will the hospitals abroad absorb them? They are well trained, the government should make sure that the tax payers’ money spent to train and sponsor these doctors are well utilized, by doing something to retain them in the country.

“There should be more funding and we should be able to perform wonders. Most of the medical feats they are performing in the developed countries, it is not that we cannot do them here, so we should have adequate funding,” Professor Wale-Olomu said.

Professor Musa-Olomu explains further: “After coming out as consultants, some travel to US, UK to acquire skills on their own, so government should champion this cause by sponsoring health personnel for further trainings and after acquiring the skills they will come back and it will benefit the lot of our teeming population.”

Strengthen Primary Health Centres
The Medical Director also urged the Nigerian government to strengthen Primary health Centres, saying this action would ease the burden on the tertiary health facilities.

In his words: “The primary health sector should be strengthened and if the primary health sector is boosted there would be less to battle at the tertiary health centres.”

Speaking on some of his achievements since assumption of office three and half years ago, the Medical Director explained that the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta carried out over 400 operations, including two open heart surgeries and removal of brain tumours.

Musa-Olomu said that the Centre, till date, boasts of the best Physiotherapy Centre in Nigeria,  with the current upgrading of the health institution.

He said that the hospital had increased its capacity from 200 beds to over 600 beds.

Proposed University of Medicine
On its proposed University of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Professor Musa-Olomu said “We have the master-plan already, University brief, University Law, everything … What we are waiting for is just the Senate approval and public hearing and executive final approval. Once the approval is given we will commence construction.”

On how they are handling Covid-19 activities so far, he said: “We have decided to take the bull by the horn, everybody is looking up to us for treatment. Our emergency services have been expanded. We have set up two isolation centres, we are partnering with the Nigerian Institute for Medical Research, they have been very kind and magnanimous. They gave us quite a lot of ventilators, oxygen and some consumables.

“Also, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Federal Ministry of Health have given us quite a lot of consumables, oxygen and necessary things to treat patients and we have been coping because this Centre has an oxygen plant.”

 “We are really in charge and that is why we are able to treat Covid-19 patients here, we are winning”.

Professor Musa-Olomu attributed the achievements recorded by the Centre, to the industrial harmony enjoyed by the hospital and federal government’s financial support.

Confidence Okwuchi