LUTH CMD urges health professionals to promote teamwork

Prof. Chris Bode, the Chief Medical Director (CMD), Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, Lagos, on Thursday urged health professionals to promote teamwork to ensure quality healthcare delivery in Nigeria.

Bode made the plea while addressing newsmen at the 2018 Joint Graduation Ceremony and Presentation of Prizes of LUTH Schools on Thursday in Lagos.

The Joint Graduation Ceremony was part of the ongoing LUTH Week Celebration with the theme: “Teamwork, A Guiding Light for Changing Times”.

“In the health care system, everybody is important; the less we emphasize our differences the better service we will deliver to our patients.

“We should endeavour to always promote team spirit. It is those who benefit from the politics that actually emphasize differences.

“I am a good surgeon, but I cannot be a good nurse. Should we then say a nurse or a pharmacist is not important?

“An eye specialist needs an eye nurse; an ophthalmologist needs an ophthalmic nurse and a paediatric surgeon will need a paediatric surgical nurse,’’ he said.

According to him, the celebration shows a lot of silent work that have been going on in many of our tertiary institutions.

“We have about 10 schools here that are dedicated to the specialized training of others who also assist greatly in the care of patients.

“So, these groups of people are working silently to give better health care to our people; this is what happens internationally in best practices.

“The fact that we are graduating so many students in various cadres of specialized nursing and allied medical professions is to be celebrated as yet another milestone in what Nigeria necessary needs to do,’’ Bode said.

He, however, identified unavailable space as a major challenge that affects the LUTH Schools.

“The vision of the hospital is to relocate all these schools to a permanent site; so when they need to do practical, they will come to the hospital.

“Funding is also a major problem, but we can tap into other sources of funding, even while the government is doing their best to give us support,’’ the chief medical director said.

Also, Prof. Cecilia Igwillo, speaking as the Guest of Honour, commended the management of LUTH and tutors on their efforts to produce specialized health professional in the nation’s healthcare system.

Igwillo, represented by Dr. Aderemi Williams, advised the graduating students to adopt good attitude and discipline that would portray them as an ambassador of the institution as well as the nation.

In his remarks, Dr. Olufemi Fasanmade, LUTH Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC), said that 399 students graduated from the various schools which include the School of Nursing, School of Health Information Management and School of Medical Laboratory Science.

Also, School of Midwifery, School of Community Health, Ophthalmic School and School of Dental Health, amongst others.