By: Vitalis Ugoh, Calabar
Committed towards the enthronement of Universal Health Coverage in Cross River, the state governor, Sen Bassey Otu, says his administration intnds to expand the scope of services at Lawrence Henshaw Memorial Hospital by upgrading it from its present status as an Infectious Disease facility to a full-fledged General Hospital.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr Henry Egbe Ayuk, made this known while on an on-the-spot assessment tour of the hospital.
Ayuk described the #EndSars destruction to the facility as “a grave consequence for the people of Calabar South, with the Lawrence Henshaw Memorial Hospital the only secondary health facility at the local government area.
According to him, if UHC must be achieved, the hospital must be upgraded adequately to provide general service delivery.”
While expressing dissatisfaction at the slow pace of ongoing work in the health facility, he assured Cross Riverians, especially the people of Calabar South that government would step up its advocacy to Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and others already supporting to expedite more action in their commitment to the rebuilding of the hospital.
Ayuk called on international and local partners who rely on the facility for health related data to intervene by supporting government to rebuild the hospital, noting that “Yes, they do a lot of work, but they should step it further. The environment of which they are providing these services is in a sorry state.”
He conveyed the State Governor’s resolve to completely rebuild the hospital and get it to be fully operational within his one year in office.
The medical superintendent of the hospital, Dr. Kenneth Takim, who conducted the Commissioner and his team round the facility, thanked him for finding expedient to visit the hospital for a firsthand knowledge of the facility’s “sorry state.”
He expressed believe that the present administration, in line with its ‘People First’ mantra, will prioritise health revolution in the State, pointing out that without a healthy citizenry, there can be no meaningful leadership.
