Commissioner Defends Building Of 27 Hospitals In Imo

The Imo Commissioner for Health, Dr Joe Obi- Njoku, has said
that it will cost the state more to maintain the existing 19 hospitals in the
state than building 27 new ones.

Obi-Njoku said this recently in Owerri while speaking to
newsmen.

He explained that on assumption of office, the
administration assessed the health sector and found that the state had suffered
a drastic degradation of infrastructure and facilities due to poor management.

He said that, based on the findings, the administration
collapsed the 19 general hospitals into 10 and granted their management to the
British Health System Management Consortium for 15 years.

However, the policy attracted criticisms from some residents
who felt that it would be so expensive to have access to the hospitals because
the proprietors would only be interested in making profits.

Obi-Njoku, however, insisted that it was in the best
interest of the people to allow the British consortium to invest in and run the
dilapidated hospitals for 15 years while government built new ones.

“Our people go to India, Germany, Britain, Israel and other
countries for treatment; such people spend between N10 million and N20 million
for some treatment that, with the right equipment, diagnosis and drugs, would
cost only N500,000 here.

“Doctors don’t manage hospitals; it will be a waste of
manpower; we are bringing in hospital management professionals so that doctors
will actually do the job they are trained to do,” he said.

The commissioner said that the state government had embarked
on a comprehensive health insurance scheme to ensure that the poor had access
to health care.

He gave an assurance that the new hospitals would be
completed by the end of the year, adding that government was already making
plans to equip them.

The commissioner also pointed out that a professional
management team was being assembled to run the new hospitals.

“Our goal is to make Imo State a health tourism destination.

“Health tourism cannot be done in dilapidated buildings and
if you must do it, you must offer the best in terms of infrastructure,
equipment, management and services,” he added.