The Asagba of Asaba, His Royal Majesty, Prof Epiphany Chigbogu Azinge, SAN, OON, FNIALS, has urged the Delta State Government to set the necessary machinery in motion for the upgrade of the Asaba Specialist Hospital (ASH), to a Teaching Hospital.
The Monarch, who made the call on Thursday during a familiarization visit to the secondary health institution, noted that the accreditations the hospital had received in diverse areas eminently qualified it to be a Teaching Hospital.
In the words of the Asagba: “One major plea I am here to make is to the Delta State Government, and I believe that the message will resonate clearly by the time we leave here. My plea to the government of the day is to put the necessary machinery in motion to, in the shortest possible time, elevate the Asaba Specialist Hospital to a Teaching Hospital.
“For us, the hospital has the personnel, the equipment, the facilities and indeed all that it takes to be a Teaching Hospital. You have already been accredited in many areas, so what is left is just in nomenclature. It will help in building up the capacity of staff, create more job opportunities, and more importantly keep the staff longer on their jobs than necessary, because once you migrate to a Teaching Hospital automatically the University conditions will apply to you.
“But having said that, we know that it will go through the crucible of law making. There must be a legal instrument to back it up. We are happy that the member representing Oshimili South in the State Assembly, Hon Bridget Anyafulu, is here with us and I want to charge her to please let us work together to see how we can migrate to either Asaba Specialist Teaching Hospital or Dennis Osadebay University Teaching Hospital, Asaba.
“If we are able to achieve that I believe that it will help in a very special way to elevate the status of both the hospital and the staff. So we are happy with what we have seen; if you look at the faces of the people working here you can see that they are happy and that’s good enough for a working environment. That doesn’t in anyway suggest that all is well. Much more can still be achieved.
On the issue of housing, Asagba Prof Azinge said it was not within his purview as a traditional ruler and commended ongoing efforts of the State Assembly to legislate on rent and agency fees in Asaba.
He said the visit to the hospital was in the line of duty because healthcare remained a significant aspect of the welfare of a people which the Asaba community under his watch was not taking for granted.
“Not too long ago, I undertook a tour of the Primary Healthcare Centres in Asaba, and just last week I was at the FMC, Asaba for a similar engagement. Today, I am happy that I am here to engage with you, see things for myself, listen to your challenges and make some informed comments about this health institution.
“But firstly, I want to commend the government of the day and successive governments for making this place possible and for supporting it to grow in the manner it has grown within the shortest possible time. I commend the government for the free maternal and child healthcare programme, the numerous state-of-the-art health equipment available in this hospital, and for the promise of a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan machine, which presently we, as a community, are trying to see how we can procure one for the FMC, Asaba.
“We are happy that government has been quite supportive, and you also have done well on your own. I was pleased to go on a tour of your facilities and I saw all your equipment. I have also listened to the Chief Medical Director; the giant strides you’ve made since 2019 till date. The exponential rise in the number of patients within this period and on a monthly basis. Quite commendable and admirable”, the forward-looking traditional ruler said.
Earlier in her welcome remarks, the Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Peace Ighosewe, said the visit of the Asagba was not only historic, but also inspiring as it re-enforced the secret bond between the traditional institution and modern healthcare.
The CMD said she assumed duty nine months after the promising facility was set up, with a staff strength of about 40, pointing out that with the support of the Delta State Government, the commitment of dedicated staff and the support of the Asaba traditional institution, ASH had become one of the most vibrant and respected Specialist Hospitals in Delta State and Nigeria at large.
“From just about 40 staff when we started, we now have a staff strength of over 700, with 230 beds and average monthly admission rate of about 1000 and monthly clinic attendance rate of about 10,000 patients. In line with the policy of the state government, we conduct free deliveries for pregnant women, and monthly we have about 200 deliveries. We see about 800 pregnant women weekly and most of them give birth here free of charge.
“The hospital has a 3-suite theater complex and two additional theater-suites in the labour ward/maternity ward. The state government recently established a 3-unit dialysis center, with modern water treatment facilities. We have also improved on our A&E department, expanded our diagnostics services, with the laboratory now investigating cancer, cardiac matters, while we also have facilities for the production of blood products”, Dr. Peace said.
Dr. Ighosewe stated that the hospital had a well equipped sickle cell center, with facilities for new born screening for genotype, adding that it had grown from a service-oriented General Hospital to a Teaching Hospital standard center now running accredited residency training programmes in different medical faculties.
The CMD revealed that ASH recently attained a Teaching Hospital status, having entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Dennis Osadebay University to serve as a Teaching Hospital facility for their Medical School
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