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Cardiac issues, cancer most prevalent ailments at UCH, CMD reveals
By Bisi Oladele, Ibadan
The Chief Medical Director of the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Prof. Jesse Otegbayo, has revealed that cardiac issues and cancer are the most prevalent ailments being treated at the hospital aside the outbreak of COVID-19.
He disclosed this while addressing reporters on the occasion of his second anniversary in office Tuesday.
Otegbayo said though the outbreak of COVID-19 has taken the shine off other infectious diseases which are most prevalent at the hospital due to the development level of Africa, cardiac and cancer remain the most prevalent among patients at the hospital. He pointed out that cancer treatment was receiving priority attention from the management in order to meet patient A’s needs and drive early detection campaign.
Otegbayo also reeled out his administration’s achievements in the last two years to include the commissioning of a new 20-bed infectious disease centre, revamping of the ailing Main Theatre which now houses digital X-ray machine, haemodialysis machine, endocardiograph machine and ultrasound machine. He added that his administration also built cash-and-carry pharmacies and attracted renovation of five blocks by the SDG Unit of the Presidency.
He said most of the projects were undertaken with internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
Projecting for the next two years, Otegbayo said his major focus was on the independent power project which will enable the hospital generate its own electricity for the entire UCH community. He revealed that the hospital was already working with a company, adding that the foundation of the project was laid earlier in the day. He promised to work assiduously for its completion.
Otegbayo also added that his ambition was to equip various departments of the hospital for efficient service delivery.
“My ambition for the next two years is to complete the Independent Power Project that we just laid the foundation today. I will work assiduously on our independent power generation.
“We want to equip our various departments so that we can have state-of-the-art equipment and what people are going to look for in India or UK; we have men and women who can do even better than what they will see there. What we lack is the appropriate equipment and we are already working on it.
“The renovation work that is going on, we want to take it to all the nooks and crannies of the hospital and this is part of what I intend to do. These are what I have in mind to do in the next two years. You may call it ambitious but to me, it is one of the things we should be known for as the foremost tertiary institution in the country,” he said.
Otegbayo dismissed insinuations in some quarters that all the doctors and many health workers at the hospital have contracted COVID-19, describing such reports as fake.
He said since the first index case was reported in the country on February 27, 2020, UCH has treated 947 COVID-19 patients, out of which 494 were staff members while the remaining 453 were non-staff. The CMD added that most of the infections were mild, stressing that no death was recorded.
“None of them had severe infection and we have not lost any member of staff. In fact, we have one of the least infected numbers of staff among all tertiary hospitals in Nigeria.
“Most of our staff lives in the community, so there is no way to judge that people contract COVID-19 in UCH,” he said.
