FROM IKHILI EBALU, BENIN CITY
Chief Medical Director, CMD, Edo Specialist Hospital, Benin, Dr Anthonia Njoku said the hospital was almost run aground due to the N500 million debt owed by the past management.
Dr Njoku said Governor Monday Okpebholo’s attention was drawn to the indebtedness of the hospital and he waded in and services were revitalised.
“When we took over this hospital in December, we inherited a lot of bills close to N500 million.
“In fact, it was as if services were going to be halted. We talked to the governor and the previous people managing this hospital, that is the private consultants, they are being investigated, to find out what happened, how those debts were incurred. We know that this is a hospital providing essential care.”
She said, “because the governor has a heart in making sure that essential services do not stop, he encouraged and supported us, and we have kept services running in this hospital”, Njoku said.
She, however, refuted the claim that she goes about with a lot of security details.
According to her, one other thing that I would need to address is that I do not have any security men.
“So right now, I think with the permission of Mr Governor, I would need to have some security because I have been relying on God”, Njoku added.
The CMD said she was appointed based on her wealth of experience and she has been able to use it to turn around the fortunes of the hospital.
Attendance has increased by about 1,1.27 percent . Our new patients increased by about 9.5 percent. Our admissions also increased to about 3.81 percent.
“We have not recorded any maternal death. I speak to that specifically because I am an obstetrician gynecologist.
“I am not somebody who likes to blow my trumpet but the records are there to show whether I am a square peg in a square hole but I think I am. All of this shows that if the hospital was falling apart, we would not be recording these successes.
“This has also increased our internally generated revenue”, Njoku stressed.
