Oyo State governor, Engineer
Seyi Makinde, on Wednesday, commissioned the remodelled and renamed Saki
Specialist Hospital, declaring that his administration is revolutionising the
health sector in the state.
The governor, who also
announced the revocation of the abandoned Saki Township road contract, which
was awarded by the immediate past administration, said that the contract would
be re-awarded to a more competent contractor within the next four weeks.
A statement by the Chief
Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, indicated that the governor
stated these while commissioning the Infectious Disease Centre, Saki, an
uncompleted project inherited from the last administration but now remodelled
and upgraded to a 100-bed Specialist Hospital in the wake of the outbreak of
COVID-19 in the state.
Governor Makinde stated that
with the ongoing revolution in the state's health sector, his administration
will deliver 351 model primary Health Care Centres at one per electoral Ward in
the state before the end of its tenure in 2023.
He stated that the current
administration will go into the annals of Oyo State history as the one that
turned existing and moribund health infrastructure into state-of-the-art
medical facilities, saying "if Oyo State can start with attracting medical
tourism from other states within Nigeria, it means that economic activities
will significantly improve."
He further said that as the
government continues to upgrade health facilities in the state in line with its
commitment to quality health care delivery, it will also continue to equip and
maintain them and also ensure that they have the best personnel.
The governor, at the event
attended by top government functionaries and the traditional institution led by
the Okere of Saki, Oba Khalid Olabisi, said: “It gives me great pleasure to be
back here in Saki, less than three months after our last visit to commission
this Infectious Disease Centre. This facility will now be named Saki Specialist
Hospital. We have invested close to half a billion Naira on this facility. And
for equipment alone, we have invested over N250,000,000."
The governor recalled how the
government had rebuffed efforts to set up isolation centres in stadiums,
choosing to upgrade existing medical facilities, a decision which he said has
paid off greatly as shown through the success stories with the Infectious
Disease Centre, Olodo and now the Saki Specialist Hospital.
He said: “When we started
work on the conversion and upgrade of this facility, it was initially intended
to be an Observatory, Isolation and Treatment Centre to support our efforts
towards fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. But we also had more long-term goals to
ensure that it fits into our overall plan to improve the healthcare system in
the nooks and crannies of Oyo State.
“When we took over last year,
our healthcare system was not in the best shape. At the outset of the COVID-19
pandemic, we had to make the tough decisions to leverage the situation and
accelerate our plans to address the dilapidating healthcare infrastructure in
Oyo State.
"We were pressured to
create temporary isolation centres in stadiums and other open spaces, but we
remained steadfast in our resolve to upgrade existing facilities, because we
saw an opportunity even in that state of despair. And this is the result of
that decision.
“This infectious disease centre,
as well as the one in Olodo, are direct results of our well-thought-out
approach. When the history of Oyo State is written, it will be on the record
that this administration turned the existing infrastructure into
state-of-the-art medical facilities."
He added: “Well, we
have a lot of amenities to be proud of. I’ll just mention a few. Here, we have
a 10-bed Intensive Care Unit (ICU) with two Gradian State-of-the-Art mechanical
ventilators with humidifiers, various accessories and three patient monitors.
We also have two CPAP machines with face shields and re-breather bags to
deliver maximum oxygen requirements.
“Additionally, we have a
12-bed High Dependency Unit (HDU) with piped oxygen. Other facilities we have
here at the Saki Infectious Disease Centre are: Twelve-bed Female General Ward,
twenty-bed Male General Ward, an operating theatre and a recovery room.
“We also have some high-end
laboratories and equipment that will aid research into infectious diseases. The
medical community will be excited to know that we have Cobas c 111 [co-bas see
triple one] analyser here now. Also, we have a Parameter Haematology
[he-ma-to-lo-gy] Analyser, Clotting Profile Analyser, autoclave [or-to-clayv]
and biosafety cabinet.
"So, there is a 12-bed
Observatory Unit, 10-bed Isolation Unit, and seven-bed Resuscitation Unit. And
to power this centre we have two diesel generators (400 KVA and 40KVA) and
fourteen, 110 watts solar-street-lights for perimeter lighting. We also have a
pharmacy inside, CCTV control room, mobile x-ray unit and many more."
Governor Makinde, who made
reference to how some elements in the opposition have become fond of throwing
shades at his government for finishing projects the immediate past
administration left uncompleted, insisted that he would always works towards
ensuring that Oyo State people get value for their money, saying "it is
not about starting a project and abandoning it, but finishing it is what is
essential."
He added that the government
is confident that the quality of research that will be carried out at the two
centres will slow down the spread of infectious diseases such as Lassa Fever,
Yellow Fever, Tuberculosis and others.
This was as he appreciated
the immediate past Chief Medical Director of the University College Hospital, Ibadan,
Professor Temitope Alonge, who is the coordinator of the state's Isolation
Centre, for the role he played in the delivery of the project.
In their separate remarks,
the Oyo State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Bashir Bello and Prof. Alonge,
described the facility as unique, stating that it will not only serve the
purpose of being an observatory, isolation and treatment centre for COVID-19,
it will also be put to good use as a standard health facility for other
purposes.
The Commissioner said: “I
want to say that our presence here today is for the commissioning of this
unique centre in the history of Oyo State for observatory, isolation, and
treatment centre for COVID-19 and other related epidemic diseases.
“Saki is a border town and
the government is making sure that every citizen, particularly in regions like
this, are given the best provisions so that they will not be subjected to the
difficulty of looking for health care facilities in either neighbouring states
or countries."
Professor Alonge lauded the
state government on its effort in putting up the unique facility, stating that
he was convinced the health facility will supersede any other, as there is
little federal presence in the Oke Ogun area.
“This edifice, which has been
renovated and transformed into a beautiful health service delivery centre
today, is a hard-to-reach area, which means the accessibility of the entire
Oke-Ogun to this facility is what has caught your attention. And I know that
there is a very little federal government presence. This will be a unique
health care facility, which will supersede whatever federal hospital that has
ever been given. So, I want to thank you for this laudable project.
“This complex is the most
beautiful hospital system in Oyo State.
Therefore, I believe the people of
Oke-Ogun will forever be grateful to you for this laudable project. I also
believe that the various local government chairmen who have become your spies
by trying to prevent intrusions from other countries, actually helped to stem
the tide of the pandemic when it was right.
“I want to believe also that
most of their prayers would be heard by you and will leave the rest to your
wonderful decision,” Alonge said.
While speaking, an elated
Okere of Saki, commended Governor Makinde for always trying to keep his
promise, stating that the hospital project is such a huge relief for a
community which he said has never felt the presence of government.
The Oba said: “We have never
felt the presence of government here let alone having a project like this in
Oke-Ogun. Even, the hospitals that you see around were built by individual
doctors residing here. We have not seen general hospitals and health centres in
Saki before.
“Our governor amazes us a
lot. When he makes a promise, he tries to fulfill it. Actually, there are a lot
of work to be done in the Oke-Ogun zone. Before now, we go to Gbengbeleke,
Paraku (Benin Republic) to take care of our health but, by the grace of God,
the facility here today will take care of infectious diseases that may want to
fight us."
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