FG to convert FMC Azare to Teaching Hospital

By Mohammed Kaka Misau, Bauchi

The Federal Medical Center (FMC) Azare in Bauchi state will soon be converted to a teaching hospital.

This new development was disclosed by the Registrar Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, Dr. Tajuddeen Sanusi yesterday in Azare, Bauchi state.

Dr.Tajuddeen Sanusi said they were at the Federal Medical Center Azare and the site of newly established Federal University of Health Sciences Azare (FUHSA) for re-accreditation and advisory visit respectively.

Speaking to newsmen shortly after touring the hospital and the Federal university of health sciences Azare site, the Registrar commended the management of the hospital for putting enough infrastructural facilities on ground.

“FMC Azare is an institution that has been training House Officers for years, we granted them accreditation.”

The Registrar, however, regretted that the Medical Center has been training House Officers without renewal of the earlier accreditation. Therefore, he explained that, the aim of their visit was to re-appraise and sanitize the system.

“We are trying to sanitize the system. You know, before, individual hospitals do employ house officers, but of recent, the federal government centralized the entire process at the level of medical and dental council of Nigeria and from that, sanity has been brought back into the system”, he said.

“So, we are here to re-accredit their facility to see whether they are still where they were or they have moved backward or they have improved”

He further disclosed that with the coming of federal university of health sciences in Azare and the changing of the status of the federal medical center to the federal university of health sciences university teaching hospital, more lecturers, more consultants will be deployed to the center.

“We are impressed by the infrastructural development we have seen around here, they are modern and we think will serve the people, not only the people of Azare but the entire North East geopolitical zone of Nigeria”, he said.

“We want you to become a hub because the federal government is poised to actually tackle the issue of medical tourism. The issue of medical tourism is actually not okay for us because in most cases our resources are taken outside. It’s like wasting money, so it’s not friendly for our economy”, Dr. Tajuddeen lamented.

“So, what we are going to do is that the state of the art equipments and everything and with the support of the federal university, we believe strongly that we shall be there”.

On how he can asses the facility of the FMC, Dr. Tajudeen said, “the hospital is transiting from the old site to the new site and we have even told them to expand the carrying capacity by way of bed spaces to accommodate more patients”.

“So, at least, with the new site, they are okay and we have told them not to forget the Old site also, they should refurbish it so that they can use them altogether”, he pointed out.

The Registrar called on the host communities and the state at large to give the FMC & FUHSA maximum support to enable the institutions serve them better.

He also appealed to the well-meaning people of Bauchi state, the philanthropists to come to the aid of the system because it will improve and impact positively on the health of the people in Azare and the Northeast geopolitical zone of the country.

Dr.Tajuddeen said that the FMC will soon change to federal university teaching hospital due to the establishment of the federal university of health sciences in the area.

According to him, as such, there is need for a teaching hospital to service them in the training of medical Doctors and other House officers.

“Because, hospital is a workshop for the doctors and other health workers, that is why the hospital has to change its status from federal medical center to university teaching hospital”, the Registrar said.

He urged the staff of the hospital to regard themselves as the children of the same father in order to foster harmonious working relationship among themselves and the host communities.

on his part, the Acting Medical Director of the Center, Dr. Auwalu Jibrin saminu said constructive criticism were actually expected on what the management has planned to put in place.

“In fact I expected it, I knew it’s going to come and I know that at the end of the day it’s going to be for the benefit of both institutions, so we are very happy to have heard your input and I assure you we will put everything into effect, so don’t be surprise if in some of the inputs you have given, we are going back to you to say please help us sort this out because we are going to do that”, he said.

Also speaking, the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Health Sciences Azare, Professor Bala M. Audu expressed appreciation to the visiting team.

He said that the university will do everything possible to ensure the success of the federal government good plans regarding the health system in the country on the citizens.