A tour of the Ultra modern Abia State Diagnostic centre, Umuahia.

In Abia state, the health sector has been remarkably transformed. One of the notable achievements of the Orji led administration in the Health sector is the establishment of the Abia State Specialist Hospital & Diagnostic center . Located strategically in Umuahia and Aba, citizens have access to a variety of diagnostic machines.
The centre, which first of its kind in the South East zone of the country, is part of the completed and ongoing projects embarked upon by the Theodore Orji administration; and has been commended by experts as a revolution in the health sector.
It is noteworthy to mention that before the facility was brought to Abia, the only specialist Hospital for the South East was at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital in Enugu.
In a chat with Professor A U Mbanaso, Personal physician to his Excellency and Medical Director of Abia Diagnostic Complex, he disclosed that the governor was inspired after Governor Theodore Orji visited Howard University Teaching Hospital in September 2007. It was the Governor’s vision to replicate the structure of the fully equipped health facility in Washington D.C

Commissioned by President Goodluck Jonathan in February 2011, the Abia State Specialist and Diagnostic center is in partnership with Me-Cure Limited.

Medical Imaging Consultant, Mr.Chima Chukwu gave the SouthEastNigeria.com team an extensive tour of the facility and we are pleased to report our findings
This is the MRI unit of the Abia State Specialist and Diagnostic facility in Umuahia.
An MRI is done for many reasons. It is used to find problems such as tumors, bleeding, injury, blood vessel diseases, or infection. MRI also may be done to provide more information about a problem seen on an X-ray, ultrasound scan, or CT scan.

The images obtained from the MRI scan are reviewed remotely on-site…

Chukwu further explained that through the partnership with Me-cure of India, the facility was fully equipped with the most update diagnostic laboratory
The diagnostic center has a Mammography unit. A mammogram is an x-tray of the mammary glands (breasts) Many small tumors can be seen on a mammogram before they can be felt by a woman or her doctor. The procedure is done to screen for breast cancer even in women without symptoms and it also detects the cancer in women with symptoms.
Sadly, Breast cancer has grown to become the leading cause of death of Nigerian women above child bearing age. The chance of a woman having breast cancer during her life is 1 in 8. ….
Remember, early detection is key in the treatment of breast cancer
The Dialysis center at the Abia State Specialist Hospital is equipped with seven machines in total. Out of the six are functional units, two are assigned for patients suffering from HIV and Hepatitis respectively. SouthEastNigeria.com learnt that this was done to avoid complications which may result from contamination of blood.
Dialysis is a potentially life-saving treatment for people who would otherwise experience significant disability, pain and eventually death. It replicates many of the kidney’s functions.
Many people will remain on dialysis on a long-term basis but for a significant minority, the goal will be a kidney transplant.
In response to our inquiry about the fees involved, Mr. Chukwu explained that the cost was being subsidized by the Abia State Government.
In most facilities across Nigeria, an average session costs between N20,000 – N25,000 . The Federal Medical Center in Umuahia charges N25,000 per session however, Abians who wish to utilize the facility at the state owned Specialist Hospital will enjoy a subsidized rate of N15,000.

In a dialysis facility setting, water is the only common risk factor that affects all patients receiving treatments.
For each treatment, water is mixed with dialysate concentrate to form the dialysate, which then helps transport metabolic waste and excess fluids from the blood stream of a patient with compromised kidney function. Upon request, our camera’s were granted access to view the treatment area. General and special sanitary standards were met…


In addition, the Abia State Specialist Hospital and Diagnostic center in Umuahia aslo has a Computerized Tomography equipment. (CT ) for short, the scan provides information for Doctors needed to obtain accurate result of an unsuspected disease.

While speaking at the commissioning of the multimillion dialysis centre of Abia State Specialist Hospital and Diagnostic Centre in Umuahia, Honourable Minister for Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu applauded the Abia state governor, Theodore Orji.

Describing the project as “an excellent philanthropic effort translating to a quantum boost in excellent healthcare“, he stressed that the project underscored the State’s commitment to the provision of quality and affordable healthcare which aligned with the transformation agenda of the President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration . The Minister, however called on the Abia state government to enroll in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to make access to healthcare for majority of Abians affordable.

Other notable achievements of the Orji administration include the establishment of 250 Primary health centres (PHCS) in all political wards across the 17 Local government areas; free maternal services for pregnant women; reconstruction of General hospital and the construction of the 100 bed wards in 9 LGA

nice one!
....our money can do better!

Hehehe Abia State and ultra modern, in one sentence odikwa very risky