We are focused on the completion of projects and quality health care services at UMTH—CMD Ahidjo

By Mohammed Kaka

The Chief Medical Director, University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), Professor Ahmed Ahidjo, has disclosed that the management of the hospital under him is poised to ensure that projects within the hospital are completed in addition to improving quality health care services to the people.

Professor Ahidjo, who was speaking in an interview with our correspondent shortly after he received the re-accreditation panel from the West African College of Surgeons recently, gave an overview of the successes recorded within the first quarter of 2024.

He said, “The hospital is progressively moving in line with its strategic plan. We have a virtually 10-year strategic plan for the hospital, and now we are in the fifth year.”

The CMD explained that the hospital has achieved so much in line with its strategic plan of ensuring that it is developed to be the best in so many areas of specialties in medicine.

“Most of the focus that we are having in the first quarter of 2024 is to ensure the completion of our ongoing projects, to increase the equipment, and also to develop human capital,” he added.

Prof. Ahmed Ahidjo said that the interventional radiology centre construction has been completed while the heart centre project is almost at the concluding stage.

He further pointed out that “the stroke centre is concluded, the ICT centre is also completed, the fertility care centre, major equipment, the MRI and cath labs are on installation now, and many other equipment, so numerous to mention, are all on the ground.”

The CMD said that the management of the hospital under him is working hard to ensure the equipment on the ground is all installed.

“We have training for our staff and also accreditations for various postgraduate programmes to ensure we have smooth sailing in the hospital,” he said.

According to him, as far as he is concerned, nobody is missing his salary at UMTH, adding that salaries are paid promptly as they are due.

“From time to time, we have incentives in terms of training for our staff; we organize in-house training, and we support them in many forms in order to encourage them to put their best in the discharge of their constitutional responsibility,” Prof. Ahidjo maintained.

He added, “Our motor in UMTH is “the patient is the king.” Every person that is in the hospital revolves around giving the best care for the patient.”

The CMD informed us that the hospital has provided an open platform on which all patients who have any form of complaint can pass it.

“We welcome feedback; we have put boxes across the hospital, and we also move from time to time to go and see the patients and get feedback directly from them,” he said.

“We have so many monitoring committees in the hospital to ensure that any challenge from the patient is addressed. We are always focused on how to improve the quality of the services that we render to our patients,” Prof. Ahidjo noted.

He said that in line with the National Strategic Health Plan for the country, where community ownership forms part of its pillars, the management has ensured that the host community takes ownership of the hospital.

“For us at UMTH and the host community, it is not a government hospital but a hospital for the community. I am very happy that we are working cordially with all the stakeholders in Maiduguri and some parts of the Northeast to ensure that we really maintain and sustain the quality of services we are rendering to the people,” the CMD further explained.

The CMD appeals to the wealthy in society to give charity to the hospital to cater for the less privileged people who do not have the financial strength to foot their own treatment bills.

He recalled that recently, one of the elders in the Northeast, Kashim Imam, donated a large sum of money to patients who really needed prosthetic limbs.

He added that of the amount donated by the philanthropist, each of the over 1000 patients got more than a hundred thousand Naira for the free treatment.

“I think we need to encourage this type of gesture. Another person came and donated solar panels, and someone donated a water system in our kidney centre. I think these are the kind of gestures that will really help the people greatly,” the CMD opined.

While appreciating the FG for taking on the responsibility of the hospital, the CMD called for improvements in overhead costs to ensure prompt and proper maintenance of the hospital equipment and other expenses in the running of the hospital.

He said that the recent hike in electricity tariffs will greatly affect the operations of the hospital.