RAYMOND OZOJI reports
Anambra state commissioner for health, Dr. Ben Afam Obidike, has responded to a certain podcast interview where a guest alleged that the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital Amaku Awka is built for citizens to go and die because it is not equipped for emergency responses.
The guest on the controversial podcast interview which has gone viral on the social media claimed that there are little or no facilities at all at the state teaching hospital befitting for its status as a citadel of learning and saving lives.
The guest claimed that the new trauma centre built at the state teaching hospital complex Amaku Awka was a system government created for people to go and die because the trauma centre, according to him, lacked the basic facilities and equipment to qualify it as a standard emergency response centre, amongst other false claims.
But the commissioner for health, journalists and the moderator of the podcast who embarked on an unscheduled inspection tour of the facilities at the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital Amaku Awka, discovered that the allegations and claims of the state teaching hospital being ill-equipped were malicious fabrications intended to smear government efforts in the health sector.
Obidike who conducted journalists round the new trauma centre, the oxygen plant centre, the operating theatres, the intensive care unit (ICU) and other sections of the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital Amaku Awka, stated unequivocally that the facility tour confirmed the availability of modern medical facilities, including multiple ECG machines, a 64-slice CT scan, a piped oxygen system, modern operating theatres and other critical equipment.
He added that Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo recently approved the procurement of medical equipment worth over ₦500 million for the hospital, while the government continues to invest in healthcare infrastructure, recruit health workers and strengthen telemedicine services across the state.
According to the commissioner, Anambra state has emerged as one of Nigeria's leading performers in primary healthcare, winning the National Primary Healthcare Leadership Challenge Fund Award twice within the last three years and attracting about 1.6 million US dollars in performance-based grants.
He also reaffirmed the government's commitment to free antenatal care and delivery services, improved welfare for healthcare workers and the establishment of the University of Medical Sciences and Technology to address the shortage of medical professionals.
Also, the Chief Medical Director of the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital Amaku Awka, Dr. Maureen Uche Umeakuewulu, said that the visit was organised to give the public an opportunity to verify the true condition of the hospital rather than rely on unverified reports circulating online.
The COOUTH CMD explained that the hospital management has maintained a clean and safe environment through regular sanitation, clearing of grasses and fumigation despite the rainy season.
She maintained that the impromptu nature of the inspection tour demonstrated that no special preparations were made before the arrival of the media and the podcast anchor.
Dr. Umeakuewulu disclosed that the teaching hospital is undergoing major transformation through the digitisation of patients' records using barcode technology, the provision of Wi-Fi across the facility and the introduction of an electronic payment system managed by an independent service provider.
She said the initiative has eliminated cash handling within the hospital and improved transparency in revenue collection, stressing that the government of Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo has indeed prioritised the health sector.
Umeakuewulu also disclosed that the hospital has continued to record increased patronage, particularly during the ongoing free cervical, breast and prostate cancer screening programme organised to commemorate the birthdays of Governor Soludo and the First Lady, Dr. Nonye Soludo, adding that the hospital management remains focused on strengthening accountability, improving service delivery and providing quality healthcare to residents of the state.
Responding to the controversy, the guest whose remarks featured in the podcast, in a message to the Commissioner, clarified that his interview was based largely on his experiences while working at COOUTH and the gaps that existed at the time.
He therefore acknowledged that Governor Soludo had responded to several of those challenges through the renovation of the hospital following his June 2023 visit, improvements in healthcare workers' remuneration, the establishment of the Medical Response Team Fund (MRTF), payment of hazard allowances and the development of the trauma centre.
He emphasized that his claims were based on his past experiences at the hospital and does not reflect the current metamorphosis therein even as he acknowledged government efforts in revamping the health sector as evident in the current realities at the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital (COOUTH) Amaku, Awka.
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