Felix Omoh-Asun in Benin
The Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Prof. Ida Ize-Iyamu, has said the Cancer Treatment Centre housed by the institution is now a world class facility operating at full capacity.
Prof. Ize-Iyamu, who disclosed this in Benin on Monday during the inauguration of the state-of-the-art ambulance, said the centre is now 100 per cent operational and one of the biggest in the country.
While appreciating President Bola Tinubu for allowing the centre to be sited at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Ize-Iyamu said the centre is one of three in Nigeria.
The CMD expressed gratitude for the ongoing federal support under President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and pledged judicious use of the ambulance.
“We thank President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led Federal Government under the Renewed Hope Agenda for the invaluable support to UBTH. This donation will enhance our emergency medical services and deliver our mandate to provide quality healthcare delivery,” she stated.
She explained that the poor can now access cancer treatment through the Cancer Health Fund as approved by the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Alli Pate, through the office of the president and his renewed hope agenda on health.
“So if you are poor, you can receive radiotherapy in the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, courtesy of this administration,” she declared.
The CMD, who also heaped praises on the Edo State Deputy Governor Dennis Idahosa for his role in bringing about the ambulance, said cancer can be defeated through the centre.
“We are the number one cancer treatment centre in the South-south of Nigeria. The centre has state-of-the-art equipment. We have a Linear accelerated machine; we have a 16-slice CT (a multi-slice computed tomography), which is a medical imaging scan that uses X-rays and computers to take many cross-sectional pictures inside the body at the same time, where we simulate the patient’s lesion before the targeted lesions are done using radiotherapy. That machine is the latest in technology in the world,” she added.
Speaking on the ambulance, the CMD stressed that it is a walking theatre.
“When I say walking theatre, it’s an ambulance that can do and undo. What it does is that it helps us in evacuating cases of trauma from the site to where they will receive care, which is UBTH.
“And before they get to the site of care, a lot of interventions can be done within that ambulance. That’s why we say it’s a walking theatre. And we are privileged to be one of the recipients of this very wonderful gift from the Federal Government,” Ize-Iyamu said.
She noted that though many challenges are plaguing the institution, as the hospital is over 50 years old, they are surmountable.
Presenting the ambulance to UBTH on behalf of the Federal Government, the deputy governor commended the CMD and her management team for driving excellence in healthcare delivery at the tertiary health institution.
The deputy governor facilitated the ambulance donation, while a member of the House of Representatives formally handed over the vehicle on behalf of the Federal Government to the UBTH.
Idahosa pledged the Edo State government’s unwavering commitment to supporting sustainable healthcare services and expressed his gratitude to the hospital’s management for providing exceptional medical care to his late mother, Madam Esther Imaguomwanruo Idahosa, during her admission at the facility prior to her passing.
“I have been part of the process to attract this donation from my days as a member of the House of Representatives. I thank the president and the Minister of the Federal Republic and the Federal Ministry of Health.
“They have done fantastically well. However, I want to tell the president of Nigeria that we need more projects in UBTH as it is strategically located in Nigeria. The more we equip the hospital with modern equipment, the more opportunity and universal basic treatment would be available to our people,” Idahosa said.