The Chief Medical Director of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital, Amaku Awka, Anambra, Dr Joe Akabuike, has revealed that the hospital spends between N7m and N8m every month to meet its electricity demands.
Akabuike stated this at the state House of Assembly complex, Awka, shortly after meeting with the house committee on health.
He said the heavy spending on diesel is because the hospital has machines and equipment that require constant electricity supply to function effectively as it could not rely on the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company for power supply.
He added that the hospital cannot afford to take the risk of depending on the EEDC, especially as it deals mostly with emergency situations.
According to him, the hospital bought a litre of diesel at N800 and that some of the machines consumed almost a drum of diesel to function effectively.
He also pointed out the need to upgrade most of the structures at the hospital, adding that through Reverse Medical Tourism, the people in the diaspora can partner with the state government in the provision of some of the machines required to perform certain operations.
Akabuike called on well meaning individuals to adopt buildings in the teaching hospital so that there will be more structures on ground, adding that, with his vast experience and expertise, he will get people to make the structures operational.
Akabuike pointed out that he was the initiator of primary health care services in Anambra just as he stated that he met what he termed vertical and horizontal fragmentations and total collapse of primary health care services.
He said, “The hospital is spending between N7m to N8m every month to meet its electricity demands as it could not totally depend on the EEDC for power supply. We have a lot of heavy equipment that requires constant power supply.
“Currently, the primary health care centres are not functioning the way they should but I believe that what is needed is a sustained effort to make the sector work.
“That the PHCs could be scaled up from 63 to 200 and above, the present administration is determined to provide solutions to issues concerning primary health care and the health sector in general.
“The hospital has been able to access only N40m out of the N700m approved for the institution.”
He stressed that the hospital still needs structures like a dental unit, residence for doctors on call, dialysis centre and a host of other departments to surmount her structural challenges.
“The teaching hospital started as a general hospital in 1957 and most of the buildings have become old and dilapidated and needed to be replaced with new structures, we appeal for improvements in the area of funding for the hospital as it has been a major challenge.”
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