Indigent patients at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), yesterday, have said the quality of care in the tertiary healthcare facility remains unparalleled, and called on the hospital to sustain efforts at providing quality and affordable services in the health institution.

The patients, numbering about 115, registered and screened in the ongoing UBTH healthcare initiative, tagged, “Subsidised Specialised Surgeries,” which is part of activities to mark the hospital’s 50th anniversary, said the development is uncommon and expressed joy to be part of the beneficiaries in the surgeries.

A patient, who spoke on behalf of other beneficiaries and simply identified as Lucky, said he was one of the patients that benefitted, after having lost hope in accessing healthcare services at other hospitals, owing to the huge cost involved.

Chief Medical Director, UBTH, Prof. Darlington Obaseki, noted that the subsidised special surgery comes with a 50 per cent subsidy. He added that the initiative was designed to give back to the society.

He explained that assessing medical care globally does not come cheap, particularly for persons not covered in the National Health Insurance Scheme.

According to Obaseki, the hospital remains committed to providing quality medical services for its communities and Nigerians seeking quality healthcare.

“In this month of February, UBTH is providing 50 per cent subsidy on some high end minimal invasive procedures such as endoscopic and lararoscopic surgeries, colonoscopy, optical coherence tomography (OCT) among others,” he said.