LUTH Commissions ICU, NNU, Oncology Centre worth N2.3b
Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) has commissioned a 30-bed Intensive Care Unit (ICU) alongside New Neonatal Unit (NNU)/Labour Ward and Alima Atta Oncology Centre to address oversubscription.
The Chief Medical Director (CMD), Prof. Chris Bode, said: “For years, we had a shortage of ICU beds for critical care. Although our ICU services were the cheapest in Lagos, we were sadly oversubscribed, and sometimes, had to turn needy patients away to seek care elsewhere at costs five to 10 times what we charged. The newly completed modern and well-equipped 30-bed ICU will surely put a stop to this. It was built and equipped at a cost of N800 million and is the largest and best equipped in West Africa.”
Lauding donor of the oncology centre, the CMD explained: “The Alima Atta Oncology Centre, a new 60-bed facility, was built and equipped for LUTH by Mrs. Iyabo Atta, in remembrance of Alima, her late daughter, who had lived an exemplary life devoted to the care of others.”
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This philanthropist, who seeks no limelight, erected and equipped the Alima Atta Oncology Centre for the care of cancer patients at a cost of over N1.5 billion. Everyone is grateful to Mrs. Iyabo Atta for this magnificent edifice we are commissioning today.”
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Bode appealed to the Federal Government to recruit more doctors and nurses for robust service delivery and to fill the gap created by those leaving Nigeria for greener pastures abroad.
His words: “Madam Head of Service, DG Budgets and HMH, these newly built facilities shall require your kind special dispensation to man and run. The ICU alone requires 120 nurses, if we must operate it professionally. The Labour Ward and its surgical theatres need 50 more nurses, while the Alima Atta Oncology Centre requires 60 nurses for the edifice to run, making a total of not less than 230 nurses. For these three buildings, we also require additional 60 doctors, 15 of whom should be consultants.
“As previously mentioned by many commentators in the healthcare space, we are experiencing a dearth of skilled manpower in LUTH also.”
In his remarks, Minister of State for Health, Ekumankama Joseph Nkama, assured the hospital management that government was working round the clock to address brain drain through prompt replacements.
