UCTH poised to reduce medical tourism in Nigeria
The Chief Medical Director of the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, UCTH, Prof. Ikpeme A. Ikpeme says the management of the UCTH is working around the clock to equip the specialist hospital to discourage Nigerians from checking out foreign countries with health-related solutions.
Prof. Ikpeme made this promise over the week when the Cross River State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists paid a familiarization/courtesy call to the management of the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, UCTH.
He said, “We have done all that because and as a hospital and as a specialist and a specialist healthcare, the provider we must contribute our quotas to reduce and discourage medical tourism and to end the flight of foreign exchange of our country””
“So whatsoever we can provide here. We will try to provide the facility, we will try to provide the personnel and try to provide the environment so that those who want to seek those services would be able to seek those services here and get treated”
“That has been the focus of what we have done in the last few years. That is why I said we have invested in the thing we have invested in”
“”As I have said infrastructural upgrades, creating a critically appealing environment, getting more equipment and training our personnel as well as dealing with the attitude of our staff””
“SA that if a patient comes in here, that patient will have a wholesome experience. We recognise that the work is in progress”
We are usually careful not to say that we have not achieved what we want to achieve. But we are on the path to achieving that.
“We have been following our transitory in the last few years. Coming here now you will know that we have made appreciable progress. I thank you for recognising that”
“”In terms of medical checks, we are here as a hospital. We are here to provide services, preventive, curative and all of that. So in terms of your health, we have a wellness clinic now”
“We started the clinic about two years ago in the hospital. So you don’t have to be sick before you come. Be it as it may, we are open. We have healthcare. You don’t have to know anybody in this hospital to get services at 3 am”
“A responsible journalist must always ask for the other side of the story. We are open to advise, we are open to criticism. Whenever you have the information it is always good to verify the information. There are a lot of mischiefs out there”.
During an interview, Prof. Ikpeme debunks the report from social media of indicted him of embezzling the COVID-19 funds
Prof. Ikpeme also enumerated all projects carried out by his administration to include, including equipping the Isolation Centres, the ICU, and another medical laboratory. He said the funds were provided by the Federal Government of Nigeria courtesy of COVID-19 funding.
He also stated that the funds were equitably shared with all Teaching hospitals in the country, saying the same projects in the UCTH will be duplicated in all teaching hospitals in the country.
He said, .'”GOVIND? Embazling COVID fonds? First, we don’t respond to Social Media, you don’t expect us to join issues with Social Media space but it is also good that people can verify to get another side of the story. So if embezzled the COVID-19 funds I don’t think you could have seen the ICU, I am not sure you could have seen the Molecular Laboratory here””
“I am not sure you have seen the Isolation Centre either. We’ve still had the PPEs we got from COVID funding in 2020 that we are still using. That means we’ve got enough. The issue of embezzling the COVID-19 funds is not true. We didn’t embezzle any COVID funds”
“Patients don’t need to buy anything. It is because of a bad system. The modality is that you have your basic needs in a pack. We encourage you to pay for that pack”
“So you don’t go around to buy one thing or the other. We are trying to run a patient-friendly system. We are also renovating our family medicine to be a one-stop shop”
Earlier, the state chairman of Nigeria. Union of Journalists, NUJ, Comrade Nsa. Gill commended the MD and the entire management of the UCTH for the giant stride in making the Federal hospital stands out saying the milestone is a sign of a good thing to come.
His words, “We want to let you know that the new leadership of NUJ Cross River State is desirous to have a good and better working relationship with the management of UCTH, we want to straighten the relationship we have had with the management””
“We intend to ensure that as our members get to ply their trade, they do that in a healthy environment”
“”This opportunity is a great one that we want to use to get the right information, we will like you to give us that opportunity for our members to go round to see the new development that has taken place in your establishment at least to witness what the Federal Government has done in UCTH””
“We know that there is a lot of development, so our members will want to get information or the other about that development. a lot of information is there in the public about one thing or the other, about the UCTH”
“We want you to use this opportunity to straighten the facts and put them right. We will like you to give us that opportunity so that our members will see for themselves the efforts of the federal government and the effort of the board and the management of the UCTH with this current administration they have done””
“I commend you once again for what we have seen here today which is for the community, and the general public”
The highlight of the visit was going around the hospital laboratories with the journalists to ascertain the extent of the ongoing projects under the supervision of the Chief Medical Director, Prof. Ikpeme. A. Ikpeme.
