Asagba Prof Epiphany Azinge SAN OON, the 14th Asagba of Asaba, has called for improved relations between the Federal Medical Center, Asaba and its patients.
He made the call on Monday when he paid a familiarization visit to the tertiary health institution.
The Monarch noted that the narratives about the treatment given to patients at the Center were not good for the image of the hospital, insisting that anyone seeking medical attention for whatever ailment should be able to do so happily at any point in time.
Asagba Prof Azinge marveled at the remarkable improvement in infrastructural development in the hospital over time and promised to draw attention of sons and daughters of the community, especially those in the diaspora, to the challenges facing the health institution.
He specifically expressed sadness about the absence of Computed Tomography (CT) scan and dialysis facilities, as well as a functional morgue, which he said were critical to bringing the hospital to speed with present day needs of patients and the public at large.
“Running a hospital of this calibre required both infrastructural facilities and human capacity. We’ve heard so much about the facilities on ground and those that you learn for. In the same vein we’ve also been told about some of the great exploits made by your medical team in terms of new discoveries made, which are considered to be the first of their kind in this environment.
“We appreciate the ingenuity of members of your staff. But I have also heard stories, some not too palatable, about the relationship between staff and patients. That I will want us to look at closely. Anyone working in the hospital environment is rendering service of a special kind and is expected to demonstrate empathy and show signs of humanity in relating with patients.
“I listened attentively to some of the demands made by the Acting Medical Director. Indeed I discussed them with him. It cannot be said that there’s no CT scan here. It cannot be said that one cannot easily arrange for dialysis in this environment. Well, that’s part of why we are here, because from here I will be speaking to members of the Asaba community in the diaspora, especially the Medics among them. I’m appealing to them to see what they can do about some of these demands, so that by December at least some donations would have been made to this place”, the proactive traditional ruler said.
His Royal Majesty commended the medical and health workers of the Center for their dedication to duty at a time their colleagues elsewhere were jetting out of the country in search of greener pastures, assuring them that Asaba, under his watch, would support every effort to improve their working conditions.
Earlier in a welcome address, the Acting Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Ekene Omo, thanked Asagba Prof Azinge for the visit, which he noted underscored his abiding commitment to the health and well-being of the people of Asaba and the environs.
Dr. Omo recalled that as the President General of Asaba Development Union (ADU) worldwide, the Asagba introduced the bi-monthly medical outreach which brought together healthcare professionals to render free healthcare services to indigent patients in Asaba and earlier this year inaugurated the Asaba Healthcare Supervisory and Management Committee to bridge the healthcare gap in the community.
He traced the history of the hospital to 1998 when the then Asaba General Hospital was upgraded to a Federal Medical Center to provide tertiary health services to the people of Delta State and beyond.
While saying that recently the hospital’s neurosurgical team successfully carried out a complex procedure, while a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit established by the Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas Company had been commissioned in the hospital, the Acting Medical Director highlighted some of the challenges facing the institution and solicited the support of Asaba sons and daughters in addressing some of them.
The visit was rounded off with a guided tour of some of the facilities in the hospital by the Asagba.
