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Journalists that visited University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH)
By Akpan David, Calabar
In recent times, many foreign nationals from neighbouring countries are being referred to the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital for intensive and other medical services.
A visit to the hospital at the weekend confirmed that a couple of them were at the ultra modern Molecular Laboratory as well as the Intensive Care Unit.
One of them George Obenge said he came from Mamfe in the southwest part of Cameroon a week before to do some tests at the molecular lab following a referral.
“I have a compatriot who is running a small hospital in Calabar but he has always encouraged us to proceed to the UCTH for better, expert attention.
“He was the one that informed us about the ultramodern laboratory. We are many here”, the said.
In an interview, chief medical director of UCTH, Prof Ikpeme Ikpeme said their facility is now centre for medical tourism, and encouraged Nigerians to patronised local tertiary medical institutions, saying at UCTH
He confirmed influx of foreigners when he said, “We have received patients from Cameroon, Equitorial Guinea and Gabon for all kinds of health services.
“Right now, we have 100 cases that have been referred to the ICU and Isolation Centres, a good number are nationals from surrounding countries. The molecular now does all the viral diseases that require special techniques. We have had more than 100 cases treated at the Isolation Centre in the last few months since establishment.”
He told journalists that there has been massive infrastructural and structural upgrade in the last one year, and much of the funds came from their Internally Generated Revenue.
However, he added that UCTH had received a total of N950m for covid-19 and N345m for the ICU, N370m for molecular lab. Over N100m for PPEs and more than N100m for isolation centre equipment.
“These funds were specific and we did not have the latitude to choose the equipment and structures you wanted with the fixed amounts.
” ICU,, for instance, is not covid19 specific. We have developed beyond the level of ICU so that it can take care of any emergencies. The isolation centre also serves cases beyond Covid19.”
He denied that he had embezzled the Covid-19 funds. “I will not respond to or join issues with the social media that I embezzled covid19 funds. IF it is true that I embezzled such funds I am not sure that you will see the ICU, Isolation Centre, Molecular lab and all the equipment, structures and upgrade in UCTH today. Right now we still have PPEs we got in 2020. It is not true that we embezzled covid19 funds.”
Ikpeme also highlighted that they have admitted different cases that are not related to covid, adding that they have 24 hours solar powered electricity that run most of their facilities.
