By John Odunjo
The Chief Medical Director, Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Prof. Kayode Olabanji, has said that staff of the institution are appreciative of the state government’s interventions and commitment to its sustenance and development.
Olabanji dismissed a recent negative publication about EKSUTH in an outfit’s online and print versions as falsehood, mere fabrications, misrepresentation of facts and handiwork of a paid hatchet man.
Oyebanji, who said the write-up was out to paint the government in bad light, which did not reflect the love and respect that the staff have for the Governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji, said, “The mood in the Hospital is totally different from what has been painted.
“The staff are full of appreciation for His Excellency the Governor, who has been attending to all issues raised with him,” adding that extension of the state government’s Independent Power Project to EKSUTH was helpful and cost-saving for the institution erstwhile running mainly on diesel.
THE CMD had said at a press conference recently, “Governor Oyebanji has a lot of political will to make sure that the citizens of Ekiti State enjoy good health. This can be seen and felt in all the tiers of healthcare practice from primary to secondary to tertiary and even networking with some private concerns and the federal level. He has done a lot for EKSUTH”.
Part of what he said EKSUTH was enjoying to stay afloat was the removal of bureaucracy in the recruitment of core clinical staff in the hospital through giving the hospital express permission to replace the core clinical staff who exit.
Olabanji said that the hospital had been effectively rendering qualitative healthcare and training with supports from the state government, regular subvention, welfare package for workers and modern equipment and facilities.
According to him, with new equipment including endoscopy, CT scan, dental chair and facilities like Intensive Care Unit, EKSUTH has more patronage and increased IGR to make staff comfortable and meet the infrastructure and equipment needs.
The CMD, who said quality healthcare required huge funding, said, “To augment the monthly subvention and state government efforts, we are thinking outside the box to provide solution to boost our IGR. We bought the dental chairs at the Dental Hospital which have increased patronage and revenue from our IGR.
“We are engaging Public Private Partnership. We now have equipment not known in this hospital in the past. We now have endoscopy. Endoscopy is used to examine internal organs. We got endoscopy on PPP arrangement, we have been providing the services now, we don’t have to refer patients.
“Also the 544-bed hostels project which would serve as accommodation for students, interns and some transit staff are coming under PPP, the laboratory that we are equipping is PPP, so it is not everything that we go to the government cap in hand for. The government is aware that we are making our own efforts and is assisting us.
“The government has given the hospital ICU where some of the more critically ill patients are taken care of. The government is also giving us a Neo-natal ICU. It is an intensive care where we take of the critically ill new borns etc.
“The patronage in the hospital has been on the increase. Most of the essential specialists are available at the consultant level, we are training more and most of our trainees are joining. We have patronage from the adjoining states. The statistics also show that the number of patients are increasing and we give the best of attention and salvage as many of them that can,” the CMD said.
