…Says it now supports many teaching hospitals
The University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, indicated as a centre of execellence in the south-south, has explained why it floated a N10bn development fund.
The fund is part of weeklong activities to mark its 45 years of existence just as the parent university, the University of Port Harcourt (Uniport), has clocked 50 years.
The UPTH said it needs to take a position of competence and excellence to intervene in almost every medical condition emerging in Nigeria especially the south-south.
Already, according to Chijioke Nwauche, a professor and co-chairman of the local organizing committee who said the underlining purpose of the N10bn endowment fund can be deduced from the theme: ‘Repositioning for Excellent Health delivery’.
The professor said the theme aligns with the UPTH’s corporate world-class tertiary hospital status and its commitment to 10 outstanding medical services thrusts plus human resource development research and training with focus on the Niger Delta region.
He said the endowment fund was aimed at advancing critical hospital projects such as completing ongoing infrastructure, procuring vital medical equipment, and enhancing the quality of healthcare delivery to the people of Rivers State, Nigeria, and beyond.
Many point to the influx of critical patients from across the south-south and south-east as well as the tendency of helpless patients including accident victims being dumped at the UPTH. Authorities say they have no right to reject such patients.
The co-chairman said much fund is needed to sustain the status it has reached from its humble beginnings in 1980 at Emohua from where it has evolved from a small health facility into a mega tertiary medical centre with over 1,000 beds. “Today, we offer advanced medical services including IVF, Cardiothoracic Surgery, a Regional Burns Centre, a state-of-the-art Molecular Laboratory. We also host five accredited postgraduate training programmes and engage in cutting-edge research led by over 100 professors and consultants.”
He said the future of the UPTH was clear from onset when it was privileged to attract outstanding pioneer professors and medical experts such as Kelsey Harrison, Nim D Briggs, Ken Katchy, Victor Wakwe, Ose Ejele, Raphael Druamabo, Felicia Eke, and Kanu Nkanginleme, among many other legends whose legacy he said continues to shape their growth and excellence.
He mentioned some of the medical institutions where he said the impact of the UPTH extends across the region supporting the establishment and growth of the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital, PAMO University of Medical Sciences, Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital, and the Federal Medical Centre.
“Many UPTH trained professionals now serve as vice chancellors chief medical directors, commissioners of health and distinguished academics worldwide.”
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He enumerated the various events that marked the 45th anniversary especially keynote lecture delivered by Awele V. Elumelu, founding director, Heirs Holdings Chairperson, Avon Healthcare Limited & Avon Medicare, and Co Founder, The Tony Elumelu Foundation.
Speaking, Henry A.A Ugboma, the Chief Medical Director of the UPTH, revealed how the UPTH moved from the Uniport authority and Ministry of Education to the Ministry of Health in 1983 by the order of the then president, Shehu Shagari. It also moved from a 200-bed teaching hospital as was required by law to now a more than 1000-bed hospital with high number of doctors, nurses registered pharmacists and other clinical and non clinical staff members.
He said the endowment fund was crucial because there has been an upgrade of the hospital’s inherited projects from previous administrations as well as new projects which have been completed and are already in use.
He talked about several clinical and medical breakthroughs with testimonies from beneficiaries. “Over the years, healthcare professionals (Doctors, nurses, pharmacists, scientists, physiotherapists e.t.c) have delivered their expertise and selfless service to the public.
“The management also launched a five-year strategic plan for the hospital as a road map to ensure maximum productivity and to attain a world class status in service delivery, research and training which are the core mandates of the hospital to have trained several professionals, within and outside the country.
“I want to humbly solicit your support and collaboration in the hospital as the federal government alone can not cater for the responsibility of infrastructure and equipment needs of this hospital.
“I, therefore, urge you to Kindly key into the vision of our forefathers in building a first rate, world class hospital to serve the citizens of the South-South region and Nigeria at Large.”
In his remarks, JS Cookey, the second Vice Chancellor of Uniport, talked about previous fund raising efforts from which they raised the money to buy two buses that regularly thereafter conveyed the medical students from Choba to where the general hospital then converted to the teaching hospital was situated.
“Now, today I see that an endowment fund is being launched by the teaching hospital. I think it’s a continuation of that relationship which ought to be established by our education institutions with their environment, whether it is government, or individuals, or industry, to support the activities of these institutions.
“So I think the teaching hospital today is doing the right thing in trying to elicit financial support for the various activities that go on within the hospital. I am a firm believer that universities should not be ivory towers and from my exposure in some parts of the world, where I taught, I know that that is the fact. The relationship between institutions such as this, government, as well as private entities, business or individuals, has to create a synergy that strengthens the total economy, the total well-being, in fact, of a nation. And we’ve been missing that considerably in our country.”
He added: “I will continue to assist in the maintenance of good health in our communities. I will make contributions now and always to humanity.”
