UCH Requires N50bn To Regain Lost Glory
The University College Hospital,(UCH) Ibadan, requires a minimum of N50bn intervention fund to reclaim its glory as a leading tertiary health institution befitting of being described as a medical tourism hub. The Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Prof. Jesse Otegbayo, stated this during the visit of the House Committee on Health to the hospital on Wednesday. Otegbayo said gross infrasuctural decay occasioned by overstretched facilities and poor economy, were among the challenges facing the hospital. He said, “We need the special intervention fund because some of the facilities are as old as 63 years. Like any other infrastructure, the older, the more the weaknesses that set in, so you need more money and other interventions to solve the problems. All our underground cables that had been laid as far back as 1953 and the power cables that were laid 1952 are breaking down. When we pump water here, you find out that the distribution is poor. We also require the special intervention fund to replace our ageing equipment.”
In their observation after the assessment tour of facilities in the hospital, the lawmakers agreed that the UCH required special financial intervention to rescue the hospital from decay.