Recruitment Of Health Workers Will Reduce Death Of The Young Ones – CMD

Dr Paul Ezeonu, the Chief Medical Director, Federal Teaching Hospital Abakaliki (FETHA), says the institution embarked on mass recruitment of staff to meet the healthcare needs of the people in Ebonyi.
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Ezeonu disclosed the recruitment to the Correspondent Chapel of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) on Sunday in Abakaliki that the staff would work in rural areas.
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He spoke when members of the chapel visited him, noting that posting the staff to rural areas would reduce the mortality and morbidity cases.
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“We employed an outpost programme with some missionary hospitals, such as the Mile 4 Hospital, Abakaliki, Mater Misericordae Hospital Afikpo and Presbyterian Joint Hospital Uburu, to achieve this goal.
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“The Mile 4 Hospital which records a child delivery rate of 4, 000 a year with only four doctors is a vivid example, and we have posted more than 15 doctors there,” he said.
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The CMD said that the hospital provided the necessary training and logistics for the staff to meet up with challenges confronting them.
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“We want to ameliorate the sufferings of the people, especially in the rural areas so that they can access quality healthcare not only in the towns as is the case in advanced countries.
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“In Ebonyi for instance, people should access quality healthcare in areas such as Onueke and Ezzamgbo and not only in Abakaliki, which is the challenge confronting us presently,” he said.
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He said that there were initial objections to the mass recruitment but the success recorded had made people to have a rethink on the development.
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“We make sure that the staffs are at home with the rural dwellers in areas of culture, dialect and environmental adaptability for effective discharge of their services.
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“That is why we are seeking more ambulances and other facilities to be stationed at strategic locations for efficient coverage,” he said.
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Ezeonu said that the hospital would move out of its present complex to the new one by June if the current budget was promptly released for capital project.
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He congratulated the chapel for the peaceful election of its new executive and urged the members to work together for its objectives.
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Earlier, Mr Jacob Ogodo, Chairman of the chapel, commended the CMD for repositioning the hospital through the provision of relevant infrastructure to complement government health care delivery programmes.
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“We are ready to partner with you to ensure that people are informed about your activities, now that the State Teaching Hospital had merged with the former Federal Medical Centre to form the present FETHA.