The House of Representatives Committee on Health Institutions has given the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) and Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, provisional clearance, pending further verification.

The committee, led by Chairman Dr Patrick Umoh, conducted an oversight visit to the hospital on Monday to assess its state of affairs and interact with management, staff, and patients.

Speaking after meeting with the heads of management of both institutions and inspecting the UPTH facilities, Umoh, in his assessment, scored the hospital’s facilities 7 out of 10, with particular praise for the Presidential Premium Amenities Ward, ICU, Mother and Child Hospital, and Accident and Emergency Ward.

He said: “We also took our tour around to some facilities that are wonderful and superlative in state. I’ve seen the presidential, the premium amenities ward. I’ve seen their ICU. I’ve seen the mother and child hospital, the accident and emergency wards and all that. On a ratio of one to 10, they can score seven to 10.

“So, I appreciate what they’re doing, and I want to urge the CMD to keep it up. In our assessment, we’ve given them provisional clearance pending when we meet as a committee to verify what we’ve done here on oversight”.

However, the committee noted that the hospital requires significant revamping, particularly in infrastructure.

Umoh stated that the hospital is an old facility that requires significant improvement in several major areas, but expressed optimism that ongoing projects would enhance the hospital’s services.

He added: “It’s work in progress, we have seen much, it’s an old hospital that needs lots of revamping in major areas, particularly infrastructure. We’ve also seen some upcoming projects that the hospital embarked upon. We are hopeful that this project will be completed, and a cleanup will be done in some areas to ensure the place is very effectively clean for services.”

He, however, explained that the committee’s assessment is part of its oversight function, aimed at evaluating the hospital’s budget performance index for the 2024 budget and projections for the 2025 appropriation act. He said it is expected to provide insights into the hospital’s operations and make recommendations for improvement.

The provisional clearance indicates that the committee is generally satisfied with the hospital’s operations; however, it will conduct further verification before making a final determination.

Meanwhile, the Chief Medical Director of the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH), Professor Henry Ugboma, expressed optimism about the hospital’s future, despite the challenges it faces.

Ugboma stated that the hospital is not concerned about the oversight visits from the House of Representatives Committee on Health Institutions, as they provide an opportunity to showcase the hospital’s achievements and improvements.

According to him, the committee’s visit is a motivation for the hospital to do more and achieve more. “We are not to worry in the sense that each year we expect that they will come, so it’s enough ginger to make us do more and achieve more from what they have seen last year,” he said. The committee’s feedback has been positive, with the hospital scoring well in various areas, including new projects and improvements.

The Medical Director of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Dr. James Omietimi, also highlighted the challenges facing the hospital, including power supply and brain drain of medical staff.

“Power is the biggest problem we have in our state as a whole and the hospital,” he said. The hospital is spending almost all its generated revenue on power, which is critical to everything the hospital needs to do.

However, Omietimi expressed hope that the state government’s efforts to build a turbine would alleviate the power challenge by the end of the year.