Why FMC Umuahia is not yet teaching hospital — MD

The absence of a medical school in a Federal University in Abia State has stalled the upgrading and conversion of the Umuahia-based Federal Medical Center (FMC), which is the oldest FMC in the country.

This FMC was established as Queen Elizabeth Hospital in March 1956 by then Queen of England, Queen Elizabeth II, in conjunction with three churches—Methodist, Anglican, and Presbyterian.

The federal government took over FMC Umuahia in 1991. Despite its stalled conversion, the hospital has almost all the facilities required of a teaching hospital, and other structures and facilities are being put in place in anticipation of its elevation to teaching hospital status.

The Medical Director (MD) of the hospital, Professor Azubuike Onyebuchi, who disclosed this to The Guardian, consequently urged potential stakeholder-beneficiaries of the hospital’s services once it becomes a teaching hospital, to take the necessary steps that will facilitate its conversion and elevation.

Professor Onyebuchi spoke after he and members of the hospital staff unions’ executives undertook an inspection of various ongoing and completed projects in the hospital during his tenure, as he is currently serving a second term.

He commended the federal government for attending to the needs of the hospital, including the release of its budgetary allocations comprising personnel, capital, and overheads, and the granting of waivers to fill staff vacancies, especially those created by staff relocation and emigration abroad.

He said that many FMCs across the country had been converted to teaching hospitals because of their proximity to federal conventional universities that offer medical sciences.

He added that although the nearby Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike, near Umuahia, is federally owned, it is not a conventional university offering medical sciences. Therefore, he suggested it should be converted accordingly.

He opined that FMC Owerri in Imo State became a teaching hospital because of the presence of the Federal University of Technology at Owerri, predicting that FMC Umuahia would become a teaching hospital when there is a federal conventional university in or near Umuahia.

“This is partly why we at FMC Umuahia are proactively putting in place the relevant structures and facilities in anticipation of its conversion,” he said.

According to him, FMC Umuahia is doing everything in compliance with the performance bond all FMC Chief Executives (CEs) in the country signed with the Health Minister, which implies that the CEs must meet all the indicators used to assess them at the end of the year, failing which they would be deemed incompetent.

“Knowing that this cannot be achieved without the input, cooperation, collaboration, and involvement of the staff, we motivate and carry them along to know the new vision to ensure they offer quality healthcare services with respect and dignity to patients and the public,” he said.

“We ensure they operate under a conducive environment and provide them with the necessary materials that enable them to achieve the desired results, including advancing their status with promotions when due.”

On patient patronage, he said that the 587-bed hospital, which is fast growing to 700, is experiencing an ever-increasing patient inflow, adding that the cost of Medicare in the hospital is still considered cheap.

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“We operate a revolving fund to ensure the ready availability of medicines, disposables, and other service materials and adopt the government-prescribed 20-30% mark-up on purchase costs. We did not just suspend our Kidney Transplant service despite the Head of the Unit being recently appointed head of an Abia State medical facility. We suspended the kidney transplant, awaiting the reactivation of the Organ Match Testing Facility being done outside our FMC.”

Onyebuchi, a day before undertaking the projects inspection with the staff unions during an end-of-year meeting/party, renewed his determination to achieve the national mandate given by the federal government to FMCs in the country.

Stressing that staff welfare, including their promotions, would continue to be his priority, the MD, however, remarked that about N60 million is expended monthly to provide 24-hour sustained power to the hospital. “All our projects, which he called out one after the other, are built to last. I predict there will be wonders in the hospital in 2025.”

Commending Professor Onyebuchi’s performance and achievements, which he said earned him the appointment and reappointment for a second term that will end in March 2027, the guest speaker and Methodist Archbishop of the Umuahia Diocese, Dr. Chibuzo Opoko, urged governments to apply merit based on qualifications and competence in selecting persons for appointment into public offices and not political considerations. He cited Professor Onyebuchi’s appointment as Umuahia FMC Medical Director as a justification for his (Opoko’s) call in this regard.