Medical Experts Thank Governor Emmanuel for 8 years of Quality Health Sector Reforms
EDet Edet
The Udom Emmanuel administration has received more accolades for eight years of sterling interventions in the health sector across the state.
In a dinner organized by Dr. Ignatius Akpabio, Chief Physician/SSA on Medicals, at Ibom Icon hotels, Thursday, medical experts took turn to appraise and applaud Governor Emmanuel for the qualitative feats he has achieved in the sector.
According to the host, the dinner was organized to appreciate the team of medical professionals, who has painstakingly contributed to the health sector achievements of the administration.
Akpabio, while speaking on the successes recorded in the sector, said the administration has achieved unprecedented strides worthy of commendation.
He said the administration has performed 8 successful pacemaker implantation in the General Hospital, Awa in ONNA local Government since the facilities was procured by the Udom Emmanuel’s administration, a feat he considered unprecedented in the history of general hospitals in Nigeria.
He thanked the Governor for training the cardiologist, cardiothoracic surgeons, anesthetist, intersivits, radiologist, radiographers, cardiac unit and theater nurses and the procurement of ultra modern theatre that made the implantation possible.
He also thanked the medical personnels for supporting the administration professionally to register the successes it has registered in the last 8 years.
In his goodwill message, the cardiothoracic consultant at LUTH, Dr. Ezekiel Ogunleye, who led the surgery team for the pacemaker implant, said he wants to appreciate Governor Udom Emmanuel and his Chief Physician for the tenacity of making the pacemaker implant a reality in a general hospital in Akwa Ibom State.
“I want to specifically thank His Excellency, Mr. Udom Emmanuel and his Chief Physician, Dr. Ignatius Akpabio for the tenacity of making the pacemaker insertion a reality in a general hospital in Akwa Ibom”
Ogunleye said they started the pacemaker insertion in 1999 and since then they have never done the implant in any general hospital in Nigeria.
“We started the pacemaker insertion in 1999, we have never done the surgery in any general hospital in Nigeria” – he said.
He stated further that when the idea of the implant was nursed, there were conflicting thoughts whether or not the surgery will be successful.
The Cardiothoracic consultant stated that when the news of the successful outcome of the pacemaker implant in Awa General Hospital went viral, he received many accolades from outside the country on behalf of the state government and his team for getting the process done in a general hospital.
Another surgeon, who has also been partaking in the pacemaker surgery, Prof. Eyo Ekpe, a professor of cardiothoracic surgery, appreciated Governor Emmanuel for putting the facilities on ground to aid in major surgeries in the state like the pacemaker insertion.
Explaining the procedure, Ekpe said that for the implant to be successful, several machines has to be put in place in a theater.
He mentioned that the C-Arm machine is one of the machines that has to be in a theater for such procedure to be carried out and that the machine is not common even in teaching hospitals in the country.
In his remarks, the commissioner for health, Prof. Augustine Umoh, thanked Governor Emmanuel for his investment in the health sector.
He noted that a day like this makes it very nice because you come to realize that the investments in the health sector has not been for nought.
Umoh emphasize that the pacemaker insertion wouldn’t have been possible if the facility was not made available by Governor Udom Emmanuel.
He mentioned that the Governor’s Midas touch in the health sector is dotted across many other facilities in state from the renovations to reequipping of several health institutions.
A former commissioner for health, Dr. Dominic Ukpong, said he lacks the right words to use in appreciating Governor Udom Emmanuel for his achievements in the health sector.
He described the Governor as a competent administrator who has a heart of kindness for his people.
He reminisced that on assumption of office as Governor in 2015, Governor Emmanuel instituted the reforms that birthed renovations and reequipping of general hospitals across the state, which however has led to the feats achieved today.
He noted that these interventions enabled the state to be the best state that properly managed Covid-19 professionally when it broke out in 2020.
He thanked the Governor for putting the health sector in its best form before exiting office.
