Rivers State government to construct international specialist hospital
*$4million released to Braithwaite Memorial Specialist Hospital
In a move to stem capital flight in the health sector, the Rivers State government has announced its decision to construct an international specialist hospital to handle life-threatening health conditions which took some ailing Nigerians abroad.
The governor of the state, Barrister Nyesom Ezebunwo Wike, who announced this during a courtesy visit by Prof. Mike Ogirima, the National President of Nigerian Medical Association, also said that the Rivers State Government had commenced the process of equipping the Braithwaite Specialist Memorial Hospital in Port Harcourt and has already released the sum of $4million for the project.
He said that the proposed New Specialist Hospital would promote medical tourism in Rivers State adding that it would be equipped with helipad, modern equipment for the treatment of cancer, kidney, heart, and liver diseases.
“The new specialist hospital that we are working on will stem the foreign trips by Nigerians for healthcare services. We want to conserve foreign exchange for the country,” he stated.
The governor stated that his administration has released funds for the completion of the Ultra-modern Mother and Child Hospital in Port Harcourt. He said that hospital would be ready in four months, following the termination of the joint ownership agreement with the Niger Delta Development Commission.
On the Braithwaite Memorial Specialist Hospital, Governor Wike said that the State Government has released $4million to the contractor for modern equipment to lift the capacity of the hospital to international standard and added that doctors and medical professionals of the hospital would undergo training on the use of the new state-of-the-art facilities.
Governor Wike informed that the Degema Zonal Hospital would be completed in three months, following the release of N500million to the contractor and added that other Donald Hospitals would be completed.
He announced that his administration would commence the phased distribution of vehicles to doctors on the payroll of the state government in the course of the year.
He said: “For us, our major focus has shifted from infrastructure to health and education. That is why you are seeing the rapid investments in health and education. We are committed to improved healthcare for our people.”
Speaking earlier, the National President of Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, Prof. Mike Ogirima said: “We appreciate the giant strides and commitment of Governor Wike towards the health sector in Rivers State and the health of our citizens.”
The NMA President said: “The setting up of a College of Medical Sciences at the Rivers State University, the State Teaching Hospital with the signing of the Bill into law to actualize it, the completion of new blocks in BMSH in order to raise quality of care and the commitment to see the Mother and Child Hospital completed as a legacy project.
“The massive intervention in the renovation of, otherwise, moribund secondary healthcare institutions in the state with the simultaneous rehabilitation of several General Hospitals, and the approval of the implementation of the corrected Consolidated Medical Salary Scale for doctors in Rivers State service, are eloquent testimonies of the government to the wellbeing of Rivers people,” he said.
Professor Ogirima endorsed the special award and recognition proposed by the National Private Doctors Association for Governor Wike.
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