Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State has commissioned a cottage hospital in Nkporo, Ohafia Local Government Area of the State.
The health facility, commissioned on Friday, is equipped with ultrasound equipment, radiant warmer for new babies, incubators, theatre for orthopaedic surgery, laboratory and solar power system, among others.
Speaking during the commissioning, Governor Ikpeazu said the hospital was built to provide accessible and affordable healthcare services to children, women and the aged.
The governor said the hospital was built for Nkporo people and would be managed by them, adding that every person working in the health facility must reside in the community in order to attend to emergency situations as they arise.
Ikpeazu, who announced a N1 million monthly subvention to the hospital for the first six months, urged the people to own the facility and use it maximally.
“I strongly believe that a hospital should not be known by its size, colours or dimensions of the building, rather by the availability of modern medical equipment and the expertise of the personnel that will man that equipment. This is why we have deployed a lot of resources and energy to ensure that we procure world-class equipment in various areas of medicine that will serve this community.
“Everyone that works in this hospital must reside in this community such that 24 hours of the day, our mothers, children and our aged can have the full benefits of these doctors.
“I urge indigenes of Nkporo, indigenes of Ohafia Local Government Area, both home and in the diaspora to leverage the availability of this hospital to be of service to their people.
“This is my clarion call to medical and paramedical practitioners of Nkporo extraction to return from wherever they may be even if it is for one month every year to support with their expertise in the functionalisation of this hospital,” he said.
Governor Ikpeazu also promised to donate an ambulance and build staff quarters for medical personnel working at the hospital.
The deputy governor, Sir Ude Oko Chukwu, promised that the community would preserve and protect the hospital from vandals and deterioration.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr Joe Osuji, said the hospital is equipped with all that is needed for a health facility to function effectively, including trained personnel to manage it.
Also, the Chairman of Nigeria Medical Association, Abia State Chapter, Dr Chimezie Okwuinu affirmed that the hospital would help in reducing infant mortality and provide healthcare for the people at the grassroots.
He said the hospital would also save people from travelling a far distance to access medical services.
