Fashola commissions 60-bed Cardiac and Renal Centre

Oluremilekun Osobu-Asubiojo

Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, SAN, commissioned the 60-bed ultra-modern Cardiac and Renal Centre, CRC located within the Gbagada General hospital Ifako- Gbagada South West, Lagos.
 
He noted that the hospital was equipped with 24 dialysis bed stations, 20 beds for recovery and general ward use, two high dependency wards with five beds each making a total of 10 beds for patients in intensive care, four post-surgery beds for patients who just finished surgery, two surgical theatre bed, built to the most contemporary standard to cater for people who are critically ill.
 
“There are two lecture rooms for students but one of the fascinating facilities is the surgical theatre where kidneys and hearts can be removed and transplanted.
 
“There are cameras fitted into the surgical theatre which project images and voices of what is happening in the theatre to the students in the lecture room on the ground floor,” he said, adding that, the centre is an extension of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH).

Explaining the rationale for building the centre, the governor said that government sponsored very sick Nigerians abroad in 2008 and 2014 with tax payer’s money.
 
“There were 42 cardiac cases and 28 renal cases that benefited from the gesture of the ministry of health. There were also 11 renal cases that were state-sponsored for kidney transplant, dialysis and post-transplant immunosuppressants”.

To manage the facility, Governor Fashola said Renescor Team, a multi-dimensional consortium of Nigerian and American doctors and nurses who are cardiac and kidney specialists in America have been engaged as concessionaires,that would manage and maintain the hospital for the next five years with an option of renewal.
 
“As at today, we have recruited 32 medical staff, 17 are locals eight are Indians, seven are Nigerians in Diaspora who returned home full time.
 
“12 other Nigerians in Diaspora have signed on to come home on rotation and 50 Nigerian specialists in diaspora would be coming on permanent rotation.
 
“The negotiations took almost a year but they assured us first that our students and doctors will be able to train here. They also assured me that there will be no strikes in this hospital because critically ill people will never be left alone”.
 
The governor explained that the centre will attract medical tourism from across West Africa, he also revealed plans to set up a cancer centre within the complex. “If you elect an APC government led by Akinwunmi Ambode to continue after me”.

Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris said that patients with renal replacement therapies in the form of dialysis or kidney transplantation are critical to improve the quality of their lives and prolong same.

“The prevalence of end stage renal disease in Nigeria is estimated at 290 per million,” commissioner said.
 
He said the CRC will also be a training institution for medical students and resident doctors as it has been concessioned to the best specialists internationally.

Meanwhile, Fashola has expressed dislike at the practice of flying Nigerian presidents abroad for medical attention, stressing that, the trend diminishes the image of the country.

According to him, “We could have built one with all the petrol dollars. The Federal Government does not understand that it diminishes our image every time that the head of government travels abroad for medical care,” he said, adding that he is not suggesting that all specialist hospital be built in Nigeria.

The governor noted that in most countries the best hospitals are military hospitals where the President gets treatment, adding that, Nigeria’s military hospitals used to be like that.
 
“What is the ailment that a Nigerian President goes to treat abroad that a Nigerian hospital built by him cannot handle?” he asked.

One of the beneficiaries of the centre, Mr. Alebioso said he was paying N75, 000 to do dialysis twice a week in a private hospital but that he currently does it at N20, 000 per week in the centre and thanked the governor for giving him the opportunity.