March 8, 2017
By Ijendu Iheaka
The Abia State Health Management Board on Wednesday called on Governor Okezie Ikpeazu to permit it to employ medical and paramedical staff to run the state's 17 hospitals.
The Chairman of the Board, Dr Reginald Alozie made the call during the ceremony to flag the operationalization of 100 beded hospital built at Mgboko, the headquarter of Obingwa Local Government Area
The HMB Chairman said that they had pleaded with the governor to declare a state of emergency in the health sector in Abia because of the plethora of problems bedeviling it including manpower shortage.
"One of the most troubling problems of the Abia HMB is the shortage of the medical and paramedical personnel. We have only 28 doctors managing the 17 hospitals in the state.
"There is also shortage of nurses, laboratory scientists and technicians, pharmacists, radiologists and radiographers and other paramedical staff.
"While we quite appreciate the economic crunch in the country, would you please give the HMB a little waiver on employment of medical and paramedical staff. This will enhance all qualitative healthcare delivery in our state", he said.
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He thanked the governor for building and equipping the hospital with quality equipment which is standard to cater for the health needs of the people of Obingwa adding that the hospital will not know "out of stock drug syndrome".
In his own speech, Ikpeazu thanked former governor Theodore Orji who started the project in conjunction with the defunct SURE-P.
He said that the project had been extended to three other local governments of the state adding that the new project was conceived to support the primary healthcare centres within the local governments.
He charged the people and youth of Mgboko and Obingwa to protect the hospital to ensure that its facilities were not vandalized or abused.
He promised to give the hospital the sum of N1 Million for its initial running to ensure free treatment of the people until the money is exhausted.
The Commissioner for Health Abia state, Dr John Ahukanna earlier said that the administration of Ikpeazu had used the newly built but non-functioning hospitals as a launch-pad for its revolution in secondary healthcare sector.
He said that the governor had planned to provide Abians a 24 hour hospital facility with accommodation for medical personnel, electricity and portable water.
He thanked the governor for the effort at an austere period in the country's economic life and called on Ikpeazu to give the ministry the opportunity to employ people.
Speaking on the hospital, Ahukanna said: "We will insist on zero tolerance for any form of malpractice in this facility and we encourage any such perceived issues to be reported to the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, Abia State Disciplinary Committee about to be inaugurated".
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