13th August, 2019
The Chief Medical Director (CMD), Benue State University Teaching Hospital (BSUTH), Prof. Terrumun Swende, said the hospital has acquired high-tech machines through a Public-Private-Partnership for enhanced service delivery.
Swende disclosed this on Tuesday in Makurdi.
According to him, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the Benue Government on behalf of the hospital is already yielding bountiful results.
”The State Government is not loosing from the arrangement, it is rather gaining; the hospital is now doing far better.
”According to the MoU, the partners are to procure and supply machines worth N450 million to the hospital.
”The N450 million is not only for procurement of the machines but both acquisition and repairs.
”The hospital has started taking delivery of some of the machines. The machines supplied so far are of high quality and they have helped tremendously in stepping up the standard of the hospital.
”The partner will recoup its money before the hospital will start taking charge of the funds generated by the machines,” he said.
He lamented that when he took over from his predecessor in Feb. 2017, the X-ray department had only two machines but through the partnership, the department had been boosted with more quality machines in a bid to save more lives.
”The department has been digitised because all the machines are not analogue but digital ones.
”The partnership was entered into by the government not to make money or profit but in the interest of the people.
“In spite of acquiring some sophisticated machines our rates still remain the same and in some situations less,” he said.
The CMD disclosed that the BSUTH, Makurdi, would soon establish an In-Vitro Fertilisation Centre.
Swende said that a lot of cases concerning fertilisation abound in the State, hence the need to establish the centre in order to assist the people with fertilisation issues to resolve them.
He said that the hospital hoped to achieve that through a partnership arrangement.
According to him, the State Government has given the approval to set up an IVF centre to assist in addressing the IVF issues in the state and its environs.
”IVF is a capital intensive project. Most hospitals that have the IVF centre or unit are private ones.
“We are determined to establish the centre regardless of its cost for the good of Benue residents.
”We are discussing with two private hospitals that are into IVF to partner with us so as to establish one here,” he said.
The CMD disclosed that the hospital has also established two schools namely: the School of Health Information and School of Medical Engineering.
Swende disclosed that ‘Doctors Without Borders’ had set up a burns unit in the hospital.
”The unit has a plastic theatre for the treatment of burns, and any victim of burn is usually treated at their cost,” he said.