Rivers-East Constituents To Benefit From Free Medicare

Over 2,000 persons in the eight local government areas of Rivers East Senatorial District are expected to benefit from this year’s Senator George Thompson Sekibo Free Medical Healthcare Programme.

Already, the programme expected to run for one week in each of the eight local government areas recorded about 300 patients in the first two days of the exercise.

According to the co-ordinator of the programme and Special Assistant to Senator George Sekibo, initiator of the free medical healthcare programme, Hon Kelvin Agbam, the free medical outreach is an annual progreamme planned to benefit all classes of persons especially those who do not have the means to deal with their medical conditions.

Agbam said this year’s outreach is the second phase, with the first phase which started in 2011 ending last year, adding “This is the second phase of the outreach, the first one which took place two years ago ended last year due to the complicated cases that had to be referred to bigger hospitals. We shall again refer the complicated case to either UPTH or BMSH.”

He said the medical aspect is being handled by an expert healthcare foundation, Key of Life Health Foundation, which he said, the Senator had engaged.

The Programme Manager, Key of Life Health Foundation, Samuel Duncan, said the Foundation which takes healthcare to rural places especially the hard to reach places adding that the foundation was working with Senator George Thompson Sekibo.

“He said, “this outreach is being sponsored by Senator George Thompson Sekibo and its the first time of our collaboration with the Senator’s free medical outreach,” adding that at the end of the programme, in the eight LGAs, they would have delivered on their mandate to the people.”

In his remarks, the resident doctor, Key of Life Health Foundation, and leader of the medical team, Dr Ime Imaha, said we should handle general medical, minor surgical, optical and gynaecological procedures.

Dr Imaha noted that the most prevalent cases were optical, hypertension, arthritis and hernia, which hypertension and hernia being the highest occurrences. and attributed this to the fishing and farming occupation of the people, indicating that there was high level of poverty in the area.

One of the recipients of the outreach, Blessing Omubo, thanked Senator Sekibo for the initiative and prayed God to preserve him and his family, while calling on other well meaning Nigerians to borrow a leaf from him.

Tonye Nria-Dappa