Army to sponsor seven wounded personnel for foreign  medical treatment in India

The Nigerian Army on Monday said seven of her troops Wounded – in- Action in the North – East are to be flown to India for advanced medical treatment.

The Acting Chief of Medical Director,  68 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital Yaba,  Brigadier-General Adekola Dada disclosed this while briefing journalists in Lagos.

Dada stated that the Chief of Army Staff,  Lieutenant – General Tukur Buratai had approved the foreign medical trip for the troops in line with his commitment to ensure wounded personnel get the best medical attention when the need arises.

 “We have some wounded soldiers who have referred abroad. As I speak to you,  we have about seven approvals we just received.  Those once should be on their way to India in a few days for treatment. They were wounded in action  and the COAS has just approved their foreign medical treatment. “

While debunking an online report by an anonymous Captain who had accused the Nigerian Army of neglect after he was injured in Maiduguri Borno state in 2014, Dada maintained that the Nigeria Army  had no such record of a neglected personnel as all wounded personnel have been adequately catered for.

According to him,  “It beats my imagination that someone could put up such kind of allegation. As long as I can remember, every single personnel  wounded in action have been taken care of. Sometimes,  there are thousands of Dollars involved in each personnel’s treatment.

” There are soldiers who were wounded whose cost of treatment runs into 25 to 40 thousand Dollars.  If you compute that then you will know the cost is enormous.  Then if you combine that with the fact that any personnel who is going for medical treatment abroad must be accompanied with a medical escort who will also be taken care of by the system,  then you know how much is been done by the Chief of Army Staff.

” Of course there is nothing you will do that you won’t find people who are not satisfied. If someone has an issue,  he should be able to come out,  tell his name and state his issue not hide under an anonymous person and  writing what is not true.”

He also maintained that for every wounded personnel and depending on the degree of the injury,  there is a process to be followed especially when there is need to be flown out of the Country.

“The process of referral for wounded personnel from the North-East is very fast. If a wounded soldier is evacuated to the Base hospital depending on the nature of the injury (some of which can be managed locally there),  they may be transferred to the 7 Division medical services and hospital at Maiduguri where they are taken care of and stabilized immediately.

” If there is a complication with a wounded  personnel,  he can equally be  evacuated to Kaduna.  Once he is evacuated to Kaduna,  they do the needful and the paper works starts immediately. A board is set up,  they examine the soldier,  determining the status of the injury.

“This process takes like five days or one week.  Once that is done,  the recommendation is sent to the office of the Chief of Army Staff who does the approval.

“I don’t remember anyone that was sent to him by the headquarters of the Nigerian Army  medical Corps that he declined.”

Taking journalists on a tour round the hospital facilities,  Dada  revealed that contrary to the claims by the anonymous Captain that there were many wounded troops languishing  in the 68 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital, there was only one wounded soldier,  Sergeant Ahmed Abdullahi who had a fracture in his right tibia.

The patient who is a personnel from 19 Battalion and serving in the North – East had sustained the injury during routine exercise.

The Sergeant praised the Nigerian Army for giving him the needed facility to recuperate.

Dada further sated that the reduction in the number of patients in military hospitals is commensurate with the fact that the degradation of the insurgent is progressing.

The Acting Chief of Medical Director said the COAS was doing everything possible to ensure that quality medical services are available to troop.

“the Chief of Army Staff  has taken it upon himself to rivigorate,  renovate,  restructure the medical facility lies and this is a testimony to that.

“Secondly in the area of instrumentation,  instruments and equipment are been procured to make sure that we cut down on the need to evacuate people outside the country.

“Similarly,  we have collaboration within and without the country with specialist hospitals. We no longer travel abroad to get prostacies done as a particular hospital in Nigeria now offers that facility and it is by far cheaper.

“Experts were also commissioned not too long ago.  There were 80 consultants commissioned and several medical personnel.  So we can send them to all the Battalions,  do now, each battalion has at least a doctor to takes care of the medical needs of the troops, ” he noted.