Bauchi Govt Flags Off N19bn Rehabilitation Of State Specialist Hospital

The Bauchi State government has launched the total rehabilitation and upgrade of the State Specialist Hospital, Bauchi, which will cost over N19 billion.

Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony held at the hospital yesterday, Bauchi State governor Bala Mohammed reiterated his administration’s commitment to improving the well-being of the people through modern healthcare delivery.

The governor emphasised that access to quality health services remains his administration’s top priority.
Governor Bala Mohammed has assured that the state government is trying to overcome all the challenges bedeviling the Bill & Melinda Gates School of Health Technology in Ningi to compete with its peers in the country.
The governor said that the Ningi school has, therefore, expanded its scope from monotechnic to polytechnic, and how it’s being run is unacceptable to the government.
“The School has expanded its scope from monotechnic to polytechnic. We have a lot of challenges in that school, and we are working very hard, you know, it is an issue of leadership. It is unacceptable the way it’s being run, but definitely we are doing our best to make sure that the college which is very critical to the provision of health workers is set to standard”.

Governor Bala also revealed that the state government has resolved to establish a drugs and food manufacturing company for the pharmaceutical industry to produce all the drugs the state could need for health services delivery.

The governor further disclosed, “Bauchi State government in collaboration with the Federal Government and other relevant partners to launch a State Emergency Medical Services and Ambulance Scheme that would render a 48-hour emergency medical service to the people.

“To this end, I want to thank my brother the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammed Ali Pate for the support, and this is the kind of support and synergy that the state needs from its good son”.

These, the governor noted, were in addition to the rendering of free medical transportation through the rural emergency services, maternal and ambulance transportation system for pregnant women especially those in the rural areas.

“We have also commenced free maternal services from inception to delivery of up to six weeks after delivery under the basic emergency obstetrics and newborn care, and comprehensive NMOC from which hundreds of people of the state have been treated”.

He urged the commissioner for health and other health agencies to publicise the free healthcare services for people to know as, “We have been providing other free medical services in our health facilities, like immunization, family planning, HIV-AIDS, Tuberculosis and Leprosy, among others”.

Mohammed said that in order to address the myriads of challenges his administration inherited in the health sector, the government has accorded top priority to the sector which led to the tremendous improvement of health indices in the state.

He enumerated some of the interventions and achievements recorded including declaring a state of emergency in the sector, and removing unnecessary bureaucracy and red tapes so as to achieve the desired objectives, among others.

“The Government has also been consistently allocating over 15 percent of the annual budget to the state health sector, and improved release of funds to the sector, because there is a difference between budget and release of funds”, the governor stated.

Also speaking, the commissioner for Health, Dr. Sani Muhammad Dambam, commended the governor’s visionary leadership, noting a remarkable improvement in health outcomes, highlighting a reduction in maternal mortality from over 1,000 to 382 deaths per 100,000 women, and an increase in immunization coverage from 31% to 51%.

The project is to be executed by ARCHITECTRONIC Limited within one year, and entails the complete renovation and expansion of the hospital’s infrastructure. It also includes the construction of 130 residential units for medical staff, as well as environmental improvements such as roads, fencing, drainage systems, landscaping, and solar lighting.

The project will further feature the installation of advanced medical equipment and digital health record systems, alongside the establishment of specialized care units and modern operating theatres.

To ensure uninterrupted healthcare delivery during the construction period, temporary facilities have been established within Bauchi metropolis to accommodate critical departments such as maternity, surgery, immunisation, and ART services.