…Says 100-bed rehabilitation centre will tackle drug abuse, mental health challenges
By Daniel Abia, Port Harcourt
PORT HARCOURT — Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has commissioned a newly upgraded Neuropsychiatric Hospital and a new General Hospital in Rumuigbo, Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state.
The projects, according to the governor, are part of his administration’s efforts to strengthen healthcare delivery and address emerging mental health and substance abuse challenges in the state.
Speaking at the commissioning ceremony on Tuesday, Fubara said the Neuropsychiatric Hospital project was conceived following his inspection of the old mental health facility and the rehabilitation centre being constructed with limited overhead funds by the Hospital Management Board.
He said he subsequently directed that the entire facility be rebuilt, modernised and upgraded to meet contemporary healthcare standards.
“It was there and then that I said: Look, we have this very big compound, we need to rebuild, modernise and upgrade the standard of this Neuropsychiatric Hospital and that day, we started this journey,” Fubara said.
The governor recalled that the Neuropsychiatric Hospital was conceived in 1970 and commissioned in 1977 with a 50-bed capacity.
He, however, decried the condition of the premises before the intervention, alleging that the facility had become a hub for drug trafficking.
“This premises was a drug trafficking centre. We keep people in the Rehabilitation Centre, but some of our people innocently come here to play football while others are carrying bags to sell drugs to the inmates.
“But with what we have done today, I believe that the environment is secured, well-fenced and if you must enter here you must pass through the gates. So, to some extent, it will reduce these activities of drug trafficking in this premises,” he said.
Fubara said the remodelled Neuropsychiatric Hospital now has a 100-bed rehabilitation centre for people battling mental health and substance abuse problems.
He noted that mental health challenges could be triggered by unemployment, depression and other psychological pressures, stressing the need for modern rehabilitation facilities.
“Even in developed countries, they send people to Rehabilitation Centres and they help bring you back to normalcy. So what we have done here is to prepare for the current challenges of our time,” he said.
Why General Hospital was built
On the General Hospital, Fubara said Obio/Akpor, one of the largest local government areas in the state, deserved a standard secondary healthcare facility beyond primary healthcare centres.
“We discovered that the only health services around here are the Primary Healthcare Centres. Tertiary healthcare can only be gotten if you go to the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) or the Braithwaite Memorial Hospital (BMH). We felt that Obio/Akpor deserves a General Hospital,” he said.
He said the new hospital would enable residents to access treatment within the local government, with patients requiring specialised care referred to tertiary health institutions when necessary.
Fubara said his administration remained committed to three critical areas of development — education, healthcare and housing.
“By the special grace of God, we are trying our best in these three most important areas,” he said.
The governor appealed to the Obio/Akpor Local Government Council and the host community to take ownership of the facilities and protect them against vandalism and theft.
“You’re the direct beneficiaries of it. Don’t say it is a government thing. It is in your place. Who knows, it might take you a long time to get something like this again,” he said.
The Chairman of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Gift Worlu, commended the governor for prioritising healthcare and successfully executing the projects.
Worlu also acknowledged the need for a modern neuropsychiatric facility in the area, saying it would help address mental health challenges affecting residents.
Osigwe urges end to stigma
The outgoing President of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Mazi Afam Osigwe, who was Special Guest of Honour at the ceremony, performed the symbolic cutting of the ribbon to formally open the facilities.
Osigwe commended the state government for investing in healthcare and particularly praised the emphasis placed on mental health.
He urged members of the public to refrain from stigmatising people seeking treatment at the facility, stressing that mental healthcare covered issues such as stress, depression and personal crises and was not limited to severe psychiatric disorders.
The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Health, Dr Vincent Wachukwu, said the new General Hospital was equipped with Accident and Emergency services, consulting rooms, pharmacy, laboratory, X-ray rooms, delivery room, maternity, postnatal and antenatal wards.
He said the facility also has an operating theatre, surgery recovery room, Central Sterilising Services Department, Intensive Care Unit, Newborn Intensive Care Unit, paediatric wards, male and female general wards with 50 beds each, private wards and administrative offices.
Wachukwu said the Neuropsychiatric Hospital comprises consulting rooms, pharmacy, laboratory, male and female 50-bed wards, a substance and drug abuse rehabilitation centre, 50-bed private wards, administrative offices, recreational spaces and a meeting hall.
Other facilities include an electroconvulsive therapy centre, ICT centre, canteen, mortuary, generator house, internal road networks and landscaping.
The hospital complex also has a 216-bed students’ hostel and staff quarters comprising 12 two-bedroom apartments.
Wachukwu said both hospitals had been furnished with modern medical equipment and each provided with a new ambulance.
He added that the complex was equipped with a 500KVA transformer, a 350KVA generating set and solar panels with inverter batteries capable of providing 120KVA of power.
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