NEW Rivers And Improved  Healthcare

For eight years, the immediate past APC administration in Rivers State neglected the health sector. Rivers people in rural areas were denied access to quality healthcare.  The people had no access to quality secondary healthcare  because  all the General Hospitals in the state   were left to rot.
Statewide improvement  in healthcare delivery  was one of the cardinal pledges that Governor Nyesom Wike made to the good people of Rivers State during the electioneering campaign that led to the flushing out of the failed Amaechi administration.
In the last two years, Governor Wike has worked towards creating  a comprehensive healthcare framework that caters for the needs of Rivers people. The administration has invested in the improvement of health facilities and services across the state, while taking care of the welfare of professionals  in the sector.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo was in Rivers State to lay the foundation for the construction of an ultra-modern doctors quarters at the Braithwaite Specialist Memorial Hospital. This project is progressing satisfactorily.
Training of Health Professionals
The administration established a College of Medical Sciences at the Rivers State University and also started the setting up of the State Teaching Hospital with the signing of the bill to actualize it.
Support for Private Medical Practitioners
In order to guarantee that more residents of  Rivers State have access to quality healthcare, Governor  Wike flagged off a private hospitals loan scheme (PHLS).  The first batch of the scheme witnessed  37 hospitals in the state having access to N500 million to upgrade their facilities and improve their services to the people . Seven of the beneficiaries are non-indigenes, while 30 are from Rivers State.
Flagging off the PHLS at the Government House, Port Harcourt, Wike urged the private medical practitioners to apply the loans judiciously.
The state government would pay the interest on the loans on behalf of the beneficiaries, while the beneficiaries will pay the principal sum. This novel  scheme has improved  access to quality healthcare in the State.
Unprecedented Rehabilitation of Secondary Healthcare Facilities
Prior to the advent of the Wike administration, secondary healthcare  had collapsed across the state. These General Hospitals  suffered criminal neglect during the leadership  of the immediate past  administration.  Therefore, Rivers people in rural communities were denied access to quality healthcare.
In line with the vision of the Wike adminstration to create access to quality healthcare for the people of the State, the State government commenced the total rehabilitation of 13 General  Hospitals .
The followings are the hospitals being rehabilitated : General Hospital, Omoku; General Hospital, Nchia; General Hospital, Abua; General Hospital, Isiokpo; General Hospital, Abonnema; General Hospital, Okirika; General Hospital, Opobo; General Hospital,  Bodo; General Hospital, Ngo; General Hospital, Buguma; Psychiatric Hospital , Rumuigbo; General Hospital, Emohua and General Hospital, Eberi.
Rivers people from all walks of life have declared  their support for the governor’s commitment to rebuild the health infrastructure in the state. These hospitals have never witnessed any form of rehabilitation since they were constructed in the 1970s and early 1980s.
Governor Wike declared that his administration would transform the secondary healthcare sector of the state as a means of improving the living standard of the people. The governor said that the state government resolved to revive the secondary healthcare facilities because they were abandoned for over two decades.
Their upgrade would open a new chapter in healthcare delivery in the state  as quality healthcare would be close to the ordinary people in the State.
Recruitment of Medical Personnel/Improvement of Facilities at Braithwaite Specialist Memorial Hospital
Aside the development of physical infrastructure in health facilities  across the state, the Wike administration  has recruited qualified medical  professionals to help the state government  strengthen access  to quality healthcare.
Also, facilities at the Braithwaite Specialist Memorial Hospital (BSMH) have been improved by the administration.  The State government has released  $4million for the purchase and installation of modern equipment at the BSMH.
The administration will implement a phased distribution  of vehicles to doctors  on the payroll of the state government in the course of the year.
International Specialist Hospital
The  State government has also started the process to construct  an international  specialist hospital  to handle life-threatening ailments. The  new specialist hospital will promote medical tourism in the State.
The  hospital will have a helipad, modern equipment for the treatment of cancer, kidney, heart and liver diseases.
Planned Completion of Mother and Child Hospital in Port Harcourt
In addition, the administration has released funds for the completion of the ultra-modern Mother and Child Hospital in Port Harcourt.  The hospital will be ready in four months, following  the termination  of the joint ownership agreement with the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
By developing the health sector, the Wike administration  is ensuring  a healthy population, which will in turn galvanise the rapid development  of the state.  Governor Wike has explained at different fora that his investments in the health sector  are to reduce, to the barest minimum, avoidable deaths in rural communities.
Nwakaudu is Special Assistant to Rivers State Governor on Electronic Media.

Simeon Nwakaudu