It has been revealed that the State House Medical Centre will be commercialized for efficient services.
President Muhammadu Buhari
Mr Jalal Arabi, the Permanent Secretary, State House, says the
State House Medical Centre (SHMC), which currently offers free medical
services to patients will be re-positioned to offer qualitative and
efficient services.
Arabi disclosed this in a statement by Mr Attah Esa, the Deputy
Director, Information in the State House, Abuja on Wednesday. The
Permanent Secretary was reacting to a recent media report on the state
of the Medical Centre.
It will be recalled that the Daily Trust newspaper on Tuesday
reported that patients at the State House Medical Centre were groaning
over lack of drugs and equipment at the facility.
The clinic is meant to serve Nigeria’s president, vice president
and their families as well as employees of the presidency and other
privileged individuals.
However, the Permanent Secretary said that the management would
among other things seek the commercialisation of the centre to boost its
revenue base.
According to Arabi, the centre when commercial will also augment
the appropriation it receives from the government in the quest for a
better qualitative service.
“The centre is the only health centre in Abuja where patients are not required to pay a dime before consultation.
‘‘In other government hospitals in Abuja, patients are required
to pay for consultation, treatment, laboratory tests and others but
that has not been the case with the State House Medical Centre.
‘‘The centre offers free services, nobody pays a kobo for
hospital card, consultations or prescriptions and this has taken a toll
on the subvention the centre receives from the government.
‘‘We have some of the best equipment in the country. For
instance, to maintain the MRI and other scan machines, we spend close to
N2 million monthly. Yet we do not charge a dime for those who require
MRI scans in the clinic,’’ he said.
Arabi said that the proposed reforms would ensure that those
eligible to use the Centre were NHIS complaint with their Health
Maintenance Organisations (HMOs) or primary health provider domiciled in
the clinic.
He said that already NHIS desk had been created at the clinic where patients would be required to authentic their profile.
“If their HMOs are registered in other hospitals they will be required to transfer to the centre.
‘‘This is another way through which we can boost revenue
generation at the hospital and this has started yielding results because
the stark reality is there is no free lunch anywhere,’’ he said.
The permanent secretary also dismissed allegations of
misappropriation and withholding of funds meant for medical supplies in
the centre.
‘‘I know people will insinuate and give all sorts of reasons
because they don’t ask but it will be foolhardy and madness for anybody
in his senses to defraud a medical centre of a kobo and toying with
people’s lives.
‘‘No sane person will do that, so the truth of the matter is
the hospital is being run on subvention and appropriation; if it comes
we pile the drugs.
“But, the truth is the drugs are always overwhelmed by the number of people who use the centre because it is not controlled,’’ he said.
-NAN
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