by crossriverwatch admin
The scorecard of Cross River state Ministry of Health in the last six years has been described as “a disaster by definition” due to its poor performance to deliver quality health care delivery to the citizens of the state.
State Governor Senator Liyel Imoke made this revelation during the assessment of the Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, at the ongoing three days retreat in Tinapa Resort Calabar.
He however gave the department of community health a clean bill for its effort at polio eradication and primary health care services to the rural populace.
CrossRiverWatch had on May 29, 2013, reported in “scorecard of Imoke’s commissioners” that nothing much has changed in the ministry of health despite the huge amount and the government interest in the health care delivery in the state and that findings from the general hospitals Calabar, Ogoja, Sankwala, Abouchichi, Ikom, Obubra and Ugep revealed an acute lack of personnel including doctors and shortage of drugs and facilities.
The governor said rather than investing in training of personnel and recruiting of doctors and health teachers, the Ministry is busy renovating hospitals and buying equipment with no experts to use them.
He said in the five schools of nursing with over one thousand students in the state, the schools have less than fifteen teachers, a development that made all the health institutions fail accreditation.
“So all the students in these schools may not be able to boast of an acceptable certificate if urgent steps are not taken” he said.
Continuing he said “we are busy renovating infrastructure but fail to do the easiest of training of personnel.
“Today ministry of health proposed that they want to employ retired teachers who are qualified but working in either government ministry of private practice and I said that was a stupid idea, so how can you move forward and get accreditation without training plan?”
“The Ministry of health is a disastrous ministry by definition; the ministry has delivered nothing with over six to seven million Naira invested on equipment, X-ray, Ultra Sound machine and others we bought four years ago which nobody can operate, no radiographer, no radiology we are not thinking…
“Secondary health is a big problem in Cross River State and unless there is a change we will not get what we want. Primary health care is doing well by providing primary health care to our people in the grass root. Change is imminent and we must understand it’s for effective service delivery to our people”
The governor who gave his practical experience in general Hospital Calabar said “I made a mistake, my doctor took my blood to general hospital to test for malaria and the result was negative and I said ok; but I wonder what was wrong with me so when I got to Abuja I did another test, the test that showed negative from general hospital showed positive plus plus plus, this is a true story and you can ask my Doctor, Dr. Bassey. You can imagine the risk we are putting our people at” the governor stated.
“And I suggest that we bring the private X-ray company, like Nosa, Camel and others whose business is X-ray into the general hospital, come and see “Wahala”, Pharmaceutical Society wrote to me and said if I try it they will show me. You see the challenge? And they will be lying to you that everything is the governor, the governor has not approved this and that.
“There must be reform for our people who we are serving to enjoy the services. And as it is in the Ministry of Health so also in some MDAs if we must tell ourselves the truth” the governor concluded.
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