Posted by By Joe Kalu on
The University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) Rivers State is set to relocate to its permanent site at Choba after 25 years of occupying the premises of the former General Hospital.
The University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) Rivers State is set to relocate to its permanent site at Choba after 25 years of occupying the premises of the former General Hospital.
The Chief Medical Director, Dr. Uriel S. Etawo disclosed this while briefing the press as part of activities marking the Institution's silver jubilee anniversary. He explained that the hospital's inability to relocate before now was inadequate funding by the authorities. He said the contract for the construction of the UPTH permanent site was awarded in 1980 at an original contract sum of N31.8 million, and to be completed in a period of 128 weeks.
The CMD said work did not commence until after two years, due to a change of site from Diobu to Choba and after that "We saw a tremendous progress in construction works and about 69% of the work completed, adding that suddenly the work stopped due to poor funding" He said that after abandoning the project for another 14 years, work resumed in 1998 with an allocation of N450 million, saying that since then the project had witnessed dwindling funding every other year. " The UPTH desire to occupy its permanent site was, however, given a boost, when it was designated as a Critical Care Centre and the grant that followed enabled us acquire some important medical equipment," he said. The CMD attributed the speedy development to the Federal Government health programme, VAMED which was set up by the FG to develop and equip eight selected Teaching Hospitals in the country into a 5-star hospital. He commended the FG for the equipment which worth N1 billion given to each of the eight hospitals.
Dr. Etawo regretted that over the years, the institution had experienced an explosion in patient turnover as a result of the influx of people to Port Harcourt. He however lamented that the approved capital vote for the hospital was not enough to get one of its ward blocks ready to install the 250 beds that had been received, disclosing that N2.5 billion Endowment Fund will be launched this weekend at the permanent site.
Dr Etawo used the opportunity to express his gratitude to governor Peter Odili for resuscitating the grants due the UPTH which he said had suffered long neglect by previous administrations.
As part of the UPTH the CMD listed them to include the training of over 1,000 first degree doctors in conjunction with the College of Health Sciences', which the trains over 10,000. students. And recorded, over 30,000 babies delivered in these past 25 years. Others are the treatment of over 2 million patients.
Also speaking, the provost, CHS and chairman Endowment Fund Committee, Prof. O.J Odia said UPTH needs sufficient fund to maintain its standard and initiate new services.
"We need a hospital that would be a referral centre in the world, we have the manpower, if the resources and equipment are provided, I assure you, it would stem the brain drain and also reserve the much needed foreign reserve" he said.