Dr Joe Akabuike, the Chief Medical Director, Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu Teaching Hospital, Amaku, Awka, on Thursday said the health facility spends N12.1 million monthly on power supply.
Akabuike made the disclosure in Awka when he received the state’s Commissioner for Health, Dr Afam Obidike, during his on-going tour of health facilities.
He informed the Commissioner that the facility invested on power supply “because it is critical to the hospital’s operations.
“Our greatest challenge is power supply. We spend about N12.1 million on power supply every month to sustain our operations.
“No system is perfect anywhere. In spite of many challenges, we are managing the available resources to deliver quality healthcare to residents and ensure comfortable working condition for our health workers.
“Since I assumed office, we have been able to renovate and put up new structures such as the on-call room for doctors and an ultra-modern hospital mortuary.
“We are happy that Gov. Charles Soludo’s administration is working to address the hospital’s challenges and ensure affordability and accessibility.”
Some of the consultants at the meeting identified shortage of manpower, inadequate office and clinic space, as well as medical equipment as other challenges affecting the hospital.
Responding, the commissioner said that Soludo was committed to building health institutions that would be efficient, affordable and accessible for residents.
He said: “The governor had directed that we tour hospitals and hold service audit meeting to ascertain their strength and weaknesses, in terms of service
delivery and workers’ welfare.
“At the end of the day, we should come up with an action plan to address the challenges to improve healthcare service delivery in the state.”
Obidike said that the government had started employing doctors and nurses to address manpower deficit in tertiary and secondary health facilities in the state.
According to him, the employment will ensure that residents get optimal healthcare whenever they access government hospitals for medical services.
“The government is also working to procure modern medical equipment and upgrade health facilities across the state.
“I’m appealing to our medical staff to imbibe teamwork and be committed and dedicated to their duties to ensure effective service delivery,” he said.
(NAN)