Ondo State Government says it has put in place strategies to dissuade health workers from seeking greener pastures abroad.
Prof. Dayo Faduyile, the Special Adviser (S.A.), on Health Matters to Gov. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, said this while addressing management and staff of Akure Annex of the University of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital (UNIMEDTH), on Tuesday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that Faduyile was on an assessment tour of existing facilities and ongoing developmental projects at the health institution.
“On the issue of exodus of medical personnel, it is a nation-wide issue. The government has mapped out strategies to ensure that it retains those in its service.
“It also plans to rejig the state’s health system in a way that the existing health workers are properly placed to support the system,” he said.
Faduyile tasked workers in the hospital over proper and optimum utilisation of the various facilities in the hospital to ensure better service delivery.
The special adviser enjoined the management of the hospital to improve on its services and also show leadership by example.
He advised the staff of the hospital to always interact with their management and improve on the areas identified as best practices in their operations.
The S.A. restated the government’s commitment to continuous upgrade of facilities at the university, both in Akure and Ondo annexes, aimed at ensuring quality health care delivery.
The facilities inspected include: the Accident and Emergency Unit, the Dialysis Centre, Main Operating Theatre, X-Ray Machine, Children Emergency Room and Children Out-Patient Department.
Others are the Main Surgical Ward, the Isolation Centre, General and Surgical Out-Patient Department, Histopathology Laboratory, Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory, Male Medical Ward and the Pathology Department.
Faduyile commended the state governor for the state-of-the-art facilities and ongoing developmental projects in the hospital.
He reiterated the government’s resolve to ensuring that the people of the state could access quality healthcare services.
He said: “The governor has charged that we have to do more to ensure that the people are well taken care of especially in terms of health.
“I have come as a newly appointed officer to assess how well the tertiary health institution is, and I am really amazed by the quantum of work that has been done here, as well as the equipment with facilities that are therein.
“On the spot assessment, I can say we have a governor who has done great things for Ondo State.
“The assessment so far has been beyond my imagination. I have gone round and I have seen so many machines and equipment that are state-of-the-art in place.
“We have seen a lot of infrastructure developments in place and a lot of other developmental projects that are still ongoing, and I can say that the state government has shown a lot of interest in the health sector.”
According to him, tertiary health system, which is also a very important part of the sector has really got a major uplift.
He said that the world-class facilities at the hospital would translate to improving the general welfare and well being of the people of the state.
UNIMEDTH’s Chief Medical Director, Dr Wole Ige, commended the S.A. for the visit which he said would translate to more positive developments in the institution.
Ige promised that the management and staff of the hospital would continue to strive for productivity and better healthcare service delivery. (NAN)
