By Muhammad Goronyo,Sokoto
A multi-billion naira advanced medical diagnostic centre built by the Sokoto State Government has been completed and commissioned by the Delta state Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa located along Kasarawa.
The Governor of Delta State, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, who was over 40 years into the medical services while commissioning the centre on Wednesday evening assisted by Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State, Sultan Sa’ad Abubakar Executive Council Members and other stakeholders, government dignitaries and officials of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) said the facility is world-class and a milestone in the history of medical diagnosis in Nigeria.
Governor Okowa, who is a medical doctor, is in Sokoto to take part in a meeting of the NMA holding in the state.
The facility, with state-of-the art medical equipment, has a Radiology Unit, Laboratory Unit, Out-patient Clinics, Dental Unit, and ENT Unit. It will offer a variety of services, including Medical Investigations, Radiological Investigations, and Laboratory Investigations.
It has provision for ECG, Stress ECG, Echocardiography, and Vascular Doppler, Gastrology, Endoscopy, Neurology, and EEG.
It also has extensive capacity for MRI, CT scan, Fluoroscopy, Digital X-ray, Mammography, Chemical Pathology, Histopathology, Microbiology, and Hematology.
Already, medical consultants, medical officers, laboratory scientists/technicians, nurses and other personnel required for the smooth running of the centre are being hired.
For efficiency, the centre will be managed by Healthfield Medical Services Ltd, through a public-private partnership model.
The project was executed for approximately N3.2billion, with about N824million spent on construction and N2.4billion expended on equipping the centre. Katuru & Partners Limited handled construction while Minjiriya Medical Services Limited executed the supply and installation of diagnostic equipment.
In his remarks, Governor Tambuwal said the centre will provide high-quality cutting edge medical diagnostics services for the people of Sokoto, other Nigerians and nationals of neighbouring countries.
“A staggering number of Nigerians seek healthcare services abroad, it has been reported that 5,000 Nigerians travel overseas for medical treatment monthly, with an estimated bill of over $1 billion annually. This has been as a result of non-availability of advanced healthcare technology in our health facilities,” Dr Inname said.
“There are 860 public and private health facilities in Sokoto State. For this number of health facilities to provide effective services for a population of over 5 million in the state, they must adopt advanced technologies that are used globally.
“Because of this consideration, the Sokoto State Government under the leadership of Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal designed, constructed and equipped this new Advanced Medical Diagnostics Centre to provide high-quality cutting edge medical diagnostics services comparable to any other place in the world.
“The overall objective here is to provide healthcare services for our people and make Sokoto a hub for medical tourism, so the services provided by the centre are designed in such a way that they are are affordable to people.
The Sultan of Sokoto Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar who advised the state government for the facility two years which has now has become a reality thanked God for being a witness of being among those to witness the commissioning ceremony .
He said there is need to find alternative measures of maintaining the center. Through stakeholders, this would bring the center laudable success especially if resource are generated from well to do personalities and thanked those who contributed in one way or another towards the success of the edifice.
He said the center will no doubt reduce many patients travelling outside the state and abroad in search of reliable comprehensive diagnostic and allied healthcare services.
Earlier, the state Commissioner of Health Dr. Muhammad Ali Inname said the event was a milestone in their firm determination to positively transform the lives of their people i n all facets of human endeavours.
He said the center will no doubt reduce many patients travelling outside the state and abroad in search of reliable comprehensive diagnostic and allied healthcare services.
