The House of Representatives has asked the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Development to rehabilitate, adequately equip, and recruit qualified personnel for efficient operations of the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Shika-Zaria, Kaduna, and complete phase II of the National Eye Center Kaduna Institute of Ophthalmology.
The House also asked the government to prepare an emergency 2024 supplementary budget estimate for the rehabilitation of Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaira, and completion of phase two of the National Eye Center Kaduna by 2025.
Adopting a motion on notice by Hussaini Muhammed Jallo at plenary on Thursday, July 11, the house directs its relevant committees to conduct a needs assessment of the two health institutions and report back to the House.
Leading the debate on the motion, Hon. Jallo said the two institutions were established to provide specialist medical attention to the sick, train medical personnel, and undertake research for the advancement of medical knowledge.
He expressed concern that the Hospital, which caters to patients from Kaduna and neighbouring states, is overstretched and lacks adequate equipment to function optimally, especially in critical units such as the Accident and Emergency (A&E) section.
He also expressed concern that the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital Shika Zaria, which was widely reputed for excellence is currently in a deplorable state and may soon become moribund as most of the equipment is obsolete and non-functional.
According to him, considering the rising cases of Eye diseases in the country and the need to fully rehabilitate the National Eye Center Kaduna and complete Phase II of the Eye Center as assigned in the original master plan and also the inadequacy of specialized care for such cases in public hospitals, patients are often referred to private hospitals, which they mostly cannot afford; hence, the increasing death rate.
He expressed worries at the increasing rates of diseases at the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital Shika Zaria due to a lack of adequate doctors and hospital equipment.
He expressed concern about the shortage of experts such as cardiovascular percussionists, anesthetists, and heart surgeons in Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital Shika Zaria, Kaduna, and full rehabilitation and equipping of the National Eye Center Kaduna (Institute of Ophthalmology).
-Thenation
