Martins Ifijeh
As part of efforts to show that it is not all doom and gloom in the Nigerian health sector, the organisers of Amity and Benefit Awards will be honouring best hands at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) and the management for its current achievements.
Disclosing this in a press briefing in Lagos recently, the Chief Executive Officer, Centre for Intervention Development and Leadership, Solomon Alao, said LUTH was it’s focal institution for the year because of the strides the current management of the hospital has recorded.
The Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole will be the special guest at the event billed to hold in Lagos on October 22, 2017.
The Amity Awards is a platform to inspire and compliment positive initiatives, encourage good governance, engender hope and recognise exemplary service, to reinforce good behaviour in the benefiting institutions.
Alao said LUTH has been chosen for its maiden edition because information available to the Amity team suggests the hospital management has put in tremendous efforts and took proactive steps to partner Corporate Nigeria in a bid to revamp their facilities through donations, endowments and projects or programmes.
“So far, there has been no shortage of positive responses, all of which have culminated in the need to have an event to honour the immense, life changing effort put in by selfless individuals, administrators and organisations alike.
Every year, the Annual Amity Awards will focus on a beneficiary Institution or beneficiaries (as the case may be, or as resources permit), helping raise awareness for their partnership needs.
As the platform grows, it may introduce many more innovations to promote its ideals.
“The aim of this approach is not to assume the responsibilities of government or usurp its ownership of the health facilities, rather seeking to complement government’s efforts, leveraging on existing frameworks to attract development partnership through citizen action and participation.â€
He said there was no gainsaying that the country’s healthcare facilities need a revamp, however, “rather than just bemoan the situation, we want to be part of the five per cent that are ready to do something… anything we can to bring about positive change,†Alao explained.
Among the achievements recorded in LUTH within the last two years is its addition of at least 3.48 mega watts to the country’s power capacity through its Independent Power Project by a Public Private Partnership arrangement.
The generated megawatts is said to provide uninterrupted power supply to the hospital and the College of Medicine University of Lagos. Metering contract also awarded to enable cost recovery from end users in CMUL and LUTH.
The hospital has also rehabilitated a 40,000 gallons per hour water treatment plant that was abandoned over 12 years ago. It is now fully functional.
Modular Theatre of the hospital which had been abandoned for over 12 years was fully rehabilitated with the six operation suites, Intensive Care Unit, Recovery room and all waiting areas overhauled through IGR. Adding that the theatre has become once again the flagship of Operation Rooms nationwide
A High Dependency Unit was created in the Modular Theatre to take care of patients stepped down from critical care. This innovation is first of its kind in any teaching hospital nationwide.
The hospital kicked off Assisted Reproduction in the IVF Centre with several babies now born at the centre headed by emeritus Professor OsatoGiwa-Osagie.
LUTH Surgical Skills Training Centre is now adjudged the biggest and best in Africa, this centre attracts training grants, equipment and international collaborators for the training of Nigerian specialists in skills for which they used to travel out at enormous cost. It has trained over 600 Nigerian doctors in the past two years in Laparoscopy, Endoscopy, Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery.It has also established new laboratory in Accidents and Emergency Block, among others.
