How we navigated COVID-19 challenges — Outgoing UBTH CMD

He disclosed this on Thursday after a media tour of the hospital facilities and an interactive session with journalists.

Obaseki, who noted that managing a teaching hospital like UBTH is challenging, revealed that he resumed duty by 7 a.m. and closed at 7 p.m. daily to ensure that the hospital maintained its standard of providing quality and accessible healthcare.

He added that he, alongside some senior staff, manned the COVID-19 wards during the outbreak of the disease.

According to him: “That period was challenging because I didn’t want any segment of the hospital to be shut down.”

Continuing, the CMD stated that the hospital has been fully digitalised, adding that fibre optic cables have also been laid around the hospital to ensure stable electricity.

“We see 1,500 patients in our clinics daily, and about 300,000 outpatients in a year, while about 500 to 600 patients are on admission every day.

“The challenges in catering for these patients are enormous for health workers, especially amid a difficult economic climate.

“Keeping staff happy and motivated is demanding. What we have done is to try to be there for them, because it’s only a happy staff that can treat a patient well.

“And I am proud that the hospital has enjoyed industrial harmony in the last eight years. The health workers have not had any cause to down tools,” he stated.

The CMD, whose two terms (eight years) end on August 17, dismissed allegations of exorbitant healthcare costs at the hospital, noting: “UBTH, in actual fact, subsidises its services.”

“Our specialist consultation fee, for instance, is ₦2,500, whereas in some hospitals within the state, they charge as high as ₦10,000,” he added.