Winifred Bosa.

Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, says Federal Government will soon announce special intervention for tertiary health institutions to check medical tourism in the country.

Adewole said this in an interview with newsmen when he visited the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Umuahia.

He was responding to the idea that the facility was grossly under-funded, thus hampering efficient health care delivery.

“We are planning a special intervention for our tertiary institutions and FMC Umuahia will benefit from the intervention.

There is also a backup in the 2017 budget. So, we are prepared for our institutions because we want to stop medical tourism”, he said.

“We want many of our people to receive medicare in Nigeria”,he added.

He said the intervention will take off in the next couple of weeks.

On the request by the staff that the facility should be upgraded to a university teaching hospital, the minister said the request will be discussed at the top-management meeting of the ministry.

Adewole commended the Medical Director, Dr Abali Chuku’s leadership qualities and drive for excellence and transforming the centre.

He also commended the management and staff of the centre for the prevailing convivial atmosphere.

He applauded the centre for excelling in professional examinations, winning laurels and advised them to keep it up.

The minister announced Dr Chukwuemeka Ezeonwumere, as the star surgeon of the hospital and appointed him as a part of the contingents for an international conference in the US coming up soon.

The Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health, Mrs Binta Bello, charged the hospital not to emphasize on strikes and place greater premium on the lives of patients.

The Medical Director, Dr Chuku, said, the centre, established in 1991, has 500 staff members with 86 consultants.

He said they hoped to have a Magnetic Resonance Imaging and an Advanced Diagnostic Laboratory through collaboration with the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Account.

Chuku also said the hospital has made some successes in its residency training, adding that the centre has 138 residents, including 106 senior registrars.

Chairman of the Dental and Medical Consultants Association, Dr Harry Obiudu, called for its upgrade to a university.

Obiudu said the process started during the last administration, adding that the hospital was grossly under-funded.