UCH upgrades facilities, services to meet best standards

To celebrate its 60 years of existence in healthcare, the University College of Medicine (UCH), Ibadan has upgraded its facilities and expanded its services to foster quality healthcare delivery in the country.

Chief Medical Director of UCH, Prof. Temitope Alonge, told journalists on Monday that the 1000-bed hospital established in 1957, have recorded many milestones in healthcare delivery, in areas such as neurosurgery, with about 80 percent neurosurgeons trained in the hospital, frenotomy, pediatric (child) intensive unit, High Dependency Unit (HDU), geriatric (old people) care among others, as well as expanded its services to curb medical tourism.

Frenotomy is the release of a tight or short lingual frenulum to relieve oral-motor dysfunction

According to Alonge, the hospital is focused on ending medical tourism, which has placed a huge burden on the economy. He said the major problem with the health sector was the level of treatment offered in the country, with inadequate facilities, unlike what is obtainable in foreign countries, adding that the hospital has advanced it healthcare facilities to meet up with foreign standard as the premier University College Hospital in Nigeria.

“We have facilities available in Nigeria, even the manpower, but Nigerians have to change their mind set and rebuild trust in our medical facilities and professionals to give optimal healthcare service,” he said.

He said cancer care in the country is not commendable, with inadequate facilities to cater for the cancer patients, adding that plans are underway to procure a hydrotherapy machine to treat and reduce the burden of cancer in the country.

“We are looking for a machine that can treat the four commonest cancers, the machine will access all the cancers and 90 percent of them will be successfully treated within a space of weeks. It is not an external radiation machine but internal, it gets close to the tumour and the radiation exerted on the tumour gives excellent result,” he added.

He said the federal ministry of health has listed the UCH as one of the seven hospitals to invest in cancer care, as the hospital will next week unveil its new approach to cancer care which is incorporated in its techniques.

Alonge said the hospital has upgraded its cardiac care unit to reduce the burden of heart related disease in the country. The upgraded cardiac care unit according to him, has all the necessary state of the art machines to enable the patients have the feel of quality healthcare service, adding that power provision has been made for all the facilities, as it runs on solar and inverter.

He said the 600 staff strength, are well trained to provide optimum care, making the patient feel relieved.

The hospital, which will next week commission its Geriatric rehabilitation centre, according to Alonge will cater for the elderly above the age of 60 with subsidized cost, adding that the hospital will adopt the indigent ones for free treatment and has also made available a health insurance scheme to assist those under pension.

“The geriatric rehab centre will offer long term care as it provides care for people at the age of 60 and above,” he said.

The Geriatric Rehab centre donated by Sir Kensington Adebutu, Alonge said shows the need for a robust public private partnership with the hospital to ensure quality and affordable healthcare service is given out to citizens.

“We are looking for a PPP which is like a Public Funding Initiative (PFI) in the procurement of machines. Many of the innovations in the hospital is premised on PPP and private investors, a lot of Nigerians are good hearted people that donate to the hospital, this will help boost healthcare in our country, thereby reducing the burden of medical tourism,” he stressed.

He further added that the hospital offer palliative end of life care for patients both inside and outside of the hospital to enable saying patients have the best time during the last days of their life.

He, however, urged philanthropists to fund cancer care and other medical interventions in the country.