We Are Changing Healthcare Narrative in Edo, Making Edo a Healthcare Hub with World-Class Infrastructures – Gov Obaseki
…inspects ongoing construction of 30-acre medical city, assures completion before administration’s end
…urges residents to vote wisely to sustain ongoing developments
Godspower Eguasa
Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki has said that the heathcare narrative in Edo is changing for good as the state is becoming a healthcare hub with world-class infrastructures which will meet the healthcare needs of residents and citizens and also attract medical tourism and investments into the state.
The Governor made this assertion on Wednesday February 7 2024, during an inspection tour of various medical and health facilities in the state, which include the Stella Obasanjo Hospital Expansion and Edo State School of Health Technology reconstruction projects, currently in the works, as part of his administration’s plan to transform the state into a medical hub for residents and global investors.
Obaseki while briefing journalists during the inspection exercise, noted that as part of his electioneering promise, his administration will continue to build citizens’ trust, ensuring that laudable projects in the state become a reality before the end of his administration, particularly the ongoing healthcare transformation projects.
Speaking on the ongoing revamping of the Edo State School of Health Technology, Obaseki said: “First, we promised as a government, that we are changing the healthcare narrative in Edo State. We are making Edo, from Benin in particular, a healthcare hub by ensuring we improve the health infrastructure and bring it up to world-class standard.
“Healthcare is more about services and the human capacity. While we are emphasizing the facilities, the hospitals, the clinics, the primary healthcare clinics, we are also ensuring that we create the institutions that will train the quality people we need to provide quality care. And so, the School of Health Technology is supposed to provide manpower for our primary healthcare system and our healthcare system as a whole, just like the nursing school.
“This is why we are giving it a priority and making sure that the infrastructure is ready on time for accreditation so that we can start this institution afresh before I leave office.”
Obaseki who commented on the current status of the ongoing Stella Obasanjo Hospital expansion, said: “Well, the outpatient department, the OPD is ready, what is under construction now is the inpatient department section, with the wards, the facilities, the operating theatres, and a full complement of infrastructure to provide services across a range of areas.
“The challenge is that, if you open up the outpatient department and you bring in the consultants and they want to perform procedures, we do not want to send them to other facilities.
“We are re-working the delivery schedule to make sure that we know clearly when the inpatient department, the theatres, the surgeries, will be ready so that we can synchronize”.
The Governor further expounded on his drive to concentrate more resources on changing the healthcare and educational sectors of the state, while lamenting the dilapidated state of the healthcare structure in the country and revealing that over $40 billion is spent on healthcare and educational services yearly, by Nigerian citizens abroad.
He further assured of his determination to make Edo stand out as a renowned healthcare and medical hub in the country.
Obaseki said: “As a Nigerian, you can see the crisis we are in as a people. If you looked at the papers this morning, the Central Bank Governor said that we spent over 40 billion dollars obtaining healthcare and educational services abroad.
“I mean, no normal country should behave like that. So, you know, that is what we are trying to change in this state so that we can create a system, a health care system; create educational institutions that will rank with those offered anywhere else in the world.”
“So that we do not need to go abroad to obtain either education or health services the way we are doing now, and waste valuable foreign exchange, which we should have conserved for other developmental needs.
So, the need is here, the demand is here, and we have the people, because this state, has produced doctors for the last 50 years. So, the personnel are here. Our goal is to make sure we return to what it used to be and change the politics that led us here”, Obaseki added.
He further urged citizens and residents of the state to vote wisely in order to consolidate on the ongoing reforms and developments in the state
