New Rivers Health Centres For Commissioning This Year – Commissioner

Rivers State Government has promised to put all the completed hospitals and health centres into use before the end of the year.

Commissioner for Health, Dr Sampson Parker who disclosed this in the interview with pressmen at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa said that about 40 health centres built by the state government and scattered round the state have been completed and will be functional this year.

Dr Parker said government’s plan is to give Rivers people total healthcare, stating that a lot of health projects are on-going in the state.

He noted that the government is upgrading Braithwaite Specialist Memorial Hospital (BSMH) in order to provide facilities that it inspired the Specialist manpower Development programme in the health sector.

The commissioner said that old BMH which hospital was built in 1929 has been refurbished to an international standard stressing that the theatre recently built is among the best in the world.

According to the commissioner, the idea of building the theater is to ensure that the people of the state get good, better and quality health and medical treatment instead of flying abroad for such medical.

He further disclosed that the state government is partnering with Kanu Nwankwo Heart Foundation that has been assisting the less privileged to do heart surgery abroad to now do them in the country.

The health commissioner also stated that the government plans to develop and upgrade the BMH to the Teaching Hospital whereby indigenes of the state would be trained as doctors.

He disclosed that one of the departments of the hospital would be accredited by the West African College of Surgery (WACS) and National Post Graduate College of Surgery and Physicians, adding that when that is done, the hospital will start training our doctors which will in turn attract manpower.

The commissioner however said the upgrading of the BMH is a big stepping stone to commence our own medical school in the state.