By Chioma Obinna
The Chief Medical Director of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, Prof. Adetokunbo Fabamwo said LASUTH has become a one-stop shop for healthcare as the hospital has continued to expand services regardless of the emigration of Nigerian doctors abroad.
Meanwhile, the Teaching Hospital has honoured 10 members of its staff for excellence in their professional examinations and their significant contributions to various professional health bodies.
Speaking during the awards presentation ceremony, Fabamwo explained that the approval by the state governor for an exit replacement programme at the hospital had tackled the impact of japa syndrome on healthcare services at the institution.
“LASUTH is already the preferred destination for a lot of cases that need advanced tertiary treatment. And that’s why our beds are over-subscribed most of the time. Now, a lot of the things we are doing. Let’s start with obstetrics and gynaecology where we are.
“These premises are is the ultra-modern Ayinke house, which houses about four operating theatres, houses 16 private labour ward suits. It houses an intensive care unit with 10 beds. It also houses an assisted conception centre and an IVF centre.
“So, we produce test tube babies in LASUTH and our prices for doing that are about half of what patients would have paid in outside fertility clinics.
“Second, let’s talk about kidney transplantation. We do that. We offer regular kidney transplant programmes here in Nassau using only related donors. The only thing that slows us down is the ability to get related donors because we cannot afford to use commercial kidney donors.
“We are one of the very few hospitals that run a regular open-heart surgery programme. As we speak, we have three consultant cardiothoracic surgeons on our staff, we run weekly open-heart surgery programmes.
“Before, we used to bring in expatriates to come and assist us in opening up the heart repairing the heart and so on. But for the past three years, we’ve not had to bring in any foreigners. Our local cardiothoracic surgeons have been running this programme regularly.
“As we speak, we have a critical care unit capacity total of about 20 and we are hoping to add 20 more in the next one or two months. So our total ICU capacity will be about 40.
“Why are we doing this? We have recognised that there’s an upsurge in the need for ICU in Lagos and the environment. It started during the COVID era when people were brought in breathless and they needed an ICU.
“The cost of ICU care in the private sector is very high. So we feel that as a public health institution, we should be able to offer ICU care at affordable fees.
“Almost like 10 percent of what is charged in the private sector. So that a man does not have to die because he does not have millions to put down as a deposit for the ICU. So that’s one of the other things that we are doing.
He said the state governor’s efforts to ensure sufficient funding and approval for all initiatives of the hospital helped tackle brain drain through the implementation of the exit replacement programme designed to replace any staff who resigned or retired and to ensure uninterrupted flow of healthcare services.
On the expansion, Fabamwo said LASUTH had tapped into the mandate of creating training opportunities that would enable it to provide quality services. He listed some of the areas to include: the School of Anaesthetic Technology, the School of Orthopaedic Cast Technology, and the School of Echocardiography.
“We also have other programmes that are already underway, such as the Advanced Professional Diploma in Hospital Administration and Management, which has been approved by the Institute of Health Service Administrators of Nigeria. School of Paramedics, Caregivers Academy, whose graduates would hold both local and international certifications upon completion.”
On the awards, Fabamwo, the awardees for their achievements despite challenges facing Nigeria’s health sector, added that the achievements of the awardees had put LASUTH in the limelight for its excellent work.
He said such recognition will encourage professionals to stay in the country.
Speaking, the Director of Clinical Services and Training, Prof. Adebowale Adekoya, stressed the crucial role that healthcare professionals play in advancing the industry.
Adekoya encouraged the awardees to continue in their pursuit of academic excellence while diligently carrying out their duties of saving lives and maintaining high standards of healthcare.
The awardees include Prof. Oluwarotimi Akinola, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology; Prof. Fidelis Njokanma, Professor of Paediatrics and Child Health; Dr Sekinat Osinowo, Senior Registrar 11, Department of Radiology: Dr Oluwatoni Adeyemi, consultant public health physician and Dr Ololade Fadipe, deputy director, nursing services, among others.
Source: Vanguard
