FG moves to end overseas medical treatment
By Steve Dada, 07.08.2009
Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Minister of Health, Professor Babatunde Osotimehin,  yesterday said anybody who decides to travel abroad for medical treatment come year 2010 would be doing so as status symbol and not because such treatment sought after overseas is not obtainable in Nigeria.
The minister who disclosed this at a conference organised by Society for Quality Healthcare in Nigeria (SGHN), a non-governmental organization (NGO),  noted that the government was not comfortable with the decision of some people going abroad for medical treatment, a situation which,  he noted , is affecting the foreign exchange of the country.

To achieve this , Osotimehin said the Federal Government had concluded arrangements to convert four tertiary health institutions in the country by up-grading them to five-star hospitals that would possess facilities obtainable in such overseas countries.

The minister who was represented by the Medical Director of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Professor Akin Osibogun , named the hospital involved as University College Hospital (UCH) Ibadan, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital Enugu, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital,  Zaria and National Hospital, Abuja.

The minister said the up-grading of the four tertiary hospitals will take off with the passage of 2010 national budget, disclosing that the arrangement had been made such that the hospitals had been distributed in four zones of the country,  representing South-West, South-East, Far North and North-Central, to make the hospitals within the reach of anybody seeking treatment in the country.

In the recent times there had been lots of outcry over the decision of the top bras in the federal civil service taking off for overseas medical treatment for minor illnesses, but the minister said, the government will ensure that overseas treatment is halted except for other reasons by those who may wish to do so from 2010.

The minister assured that the hospitals are going to be equipped with the state-of-the-art medical equipment that can compare favorably with those obtainable in the industrialised  countries.

Which hospital is to be upgraded in the south south? Or are we shortchanged yet again?

To achieve this , Osotimehin said the Federal Government had concluded arrangements to convert four tertiary health institutions in the country by up-grading them to five-star hospitals that would possess facilities obtainable in such overseas countries.

Good they are finally thinking about this, even though it should be a project that could have been an old story since the time nigerians started governing themselves.
Black people always make everything difficult for themselves.

The minister who was represented by the Medical Director of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Professor Akin Osibogun , named the hospital involved as University College Hospital (UCH) Ibadan, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital Enugu, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria and National Hospital, Abuja.

Why not build new ones as we have fewer medical centres around?
What about other zones of nigeria? Is this the usual WA-ZO-ZO-BIA way of doing things?
Any wonder why a group like MEND will keep striking?

This will be a great news, however, i wonder how Yar"adua will be able to take care of himself, he will probably be the one to go first.
Let us face reality, if they can use all the wasted money on overhauling Nigeria health care systems and the hospitals, we will have a great place to take care of people.
We have all it takes, investment is all that is needed and around the clock electricity too

This is good news at last. Lets hope this is done right unlike other elephant projects that never saw the light of day.

about time

At least that will reduce the siphoning of our money through estacodes.

Forgive me for being cynical, but i dont believe that this will happen by 2010. Other than that, i remember that sometime during the Obasanjo years, this was promised and even started. Some money was given to UCH in Ibadan but at the end of the day, what came out of it? Some money was also given to other teaching hospitals and nothing came from there too.

2010 is only a few months away, so what Osotimehin is telling us is that in the next ONE YEAR, if Yar'Adua suffers his usual breakdown and needs a dialysis or whatever, he will be treated in one of these hospitals? What a joke! He will be on the first plane to Germany before anyone will even know what is happening.

Something else we need to know too is that even though the will to upgrade the hospitals is there, there needs to be some equal effort in STAFFING these medical centers with qualified and able doctors, nurses and technicians. Is it not only a few months ago that the doctors went on strike? Sometime soon, nurses will follow suit. Then ASUU will also strike (some teaching hospital doctors and professors are also members of ASUU).

By 2010, how will all these happen?

Anyway, lets hope for the best. Let them at least START the process so we, the ordinary people, can see. When they start and we are satisfied with the progress, maybe we will begin to believe that they are serious

i wonder why medical treament seems so hard in nigeria?That surpose to be number one agenda of our Government, (if one dey sah)

I'm not from the niger-delta but i honestly wonder why the haven't included any hospital in the south-south. . . This government just loves problems.

Equipment my foot! what about reorientation of staff? You can't imagine that some of these staff delibrately refuse to make use of new equipment cos their myopic minds tell them their relevance would be lost if they do.

I can vividly recount an instance where i asked a scientist why the new coulter counter that was installed in the haematology laboratory of UNTH, was not being used. he said that the machine can do the work of a hundred scientist in just 30 mins, so it will be UNWISE to start using it so that some people will not lose their jobs!

Now, even if u get the best and even yet to be invented medical equipment and put such a man incharge, u will just end up wasting that money. to him and such as him, manual labour means more work and subsequently more manpower. what a thought!!!

I guess they should start from the National Hosiptal in abuja which is currently running skeletal services due to strike embarked by its staff,

The minister should just sit down and eat cookies. They keep thinking we are dumb. Let them just make a law to prohibit political office holders from travelling out for medical attention,then they sit back and watch these politicians invest in health. They are just putting the cart before the horse. Punks!

The minister should just sit down and eat cookies. They keep thinking we are dumb. Let them just make a law to prohibit political office holders from travelling out for medical attention,then they sit back and watch these politicians invest in health. They are just putting the cart before the horse. Punks!

Why do you guys like bedtime stories so much.
Last i heard, we were supposed to have uninterrupted power 10 Zap.i.n.g years ago
We were supposed to have good roads 5 yrs ago
We were supposed to have good schools 5yrs ago
Get the point.

Na today?
before you know it?
one idiot will steal the money to buy houses in England and Texas.

And walk freely in Nigeria.

MUZBO:

The minister should just sit down and eat cookies. They keep thinking we are dumb. Let them just make a law to prohibit political office holders from travelling out for medical attention,then they sit back and watch these politicians invest in health. They are just putting the cart before the horse. Punks!

Yeah I agree with you let there be legislation prohibiting political office holders from seeking medical attention abroad am very sure that within a year of making the legislation there will be 5-star hospitals all over the country own by politicians.

Make dem do am 1st

and una believe them ?

This agenda + the other 7 abi? make una let person hear word jare

another way to loot money,
what happened to the obj vamed project, it was a looting spree! ill never forget the crap they brought to luth!! the contract terms were terrible, like paying for maintanance 4 yrs up front whereas in all parts of the world, when you buy stuff, you get a warranty but in naija its different. the ct scan machines are old school,even radmed in victiria island has better machines!

it is about time the gov did this. Great news

i only read the topic and not a single posting and i'll tell you from now, another means of swindling money. what a waste. how about strike actions. this country is in a delusion.

, lets see how far this will go, we're watching,
dis is bad news for Yaradua,he wont like it at all, haba,Babatunde,why u talk dis kain talk?he'll be fired ril soon,

Tudór:

I'm not from the niger-delta but i honestly wonder why the haven't included any hospital in the south-south. . . This government just loves problems.

Ijawman:

Which hospital is to be upgraded in the south south? Or are we shortchanged yet again?

Guys, it wasn't mentioned anywhere that it's gonna be a Geo-political zoning stuff. What about North Central?

Probably they're trying to complement the existing eqpmts in the said U watevers.

so non of the south-south university teaching hospital is worthy of being upgraded?

Interesting!

As laudable as the idea is, i do believe infrastructural support ought to be on ground first.

What good will the equipments do without electricity?

If we get our acts right, private investors will do the job instead of having us another round of inflated contracts,we remember vividly the spendings by OBJ for the same purpose which achieved nada!

I want to be extremely happy but this will never come to pass. accountability in Nigeria is in shit! how is this suppose to happen without 24 hour electricity? we are not even talking about the numerous unqualified doctors and nurses. and lests not forget that even if this happens, it will most likely benefit the rich. middle/ poor people may not be able to afford the medical bill which is where universal healthcare system is needed. we just need a total halt of nigeria system by miracles!

Another well intended public policy that would go bad upon implementation.
First of all, why should the government be the one to designate these 5-star hospitals. Why can't the hospitals raise money from private, charity, and religious people?
Until government stops dishing out money, sharing money, or building white elephant; the better. In reality, if they share #1000, they propbably steal #100,000 in the confusion

I am tired of listening to stories, if the government wants to build hospitals for politicians let them go ahead and do so.