By Dorcas Elusogbon

Prof. John Okeniyi, the Chief Medical Director (CMD) Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex (OAUTHC), on Wednesday listed the institution’s achievements in medical care, research and education.

Okeniyi highlighted the achievements at a news conference to herald the institution’s 50th anniversary in Ile-Ife, Osun.

He said that the hospital had invested a lot in training of medical personnel, stressing that the skills acquired by them were being utilised by Nigerians seeking medicare.

According to him, the celebration’s theme “Honouring the Past, Engaging the Present, Shaping the Future” is aimed at spotlighting the institution’s legacy.

Okeniyi, while stressing that the hospital has been contributing to national development, noted that it is one of the foremost tertiary hospitals in the country.

“We have trained people from this hospital that are doing exploits across the universe. These include nurses, physicians, dentists and physiotherapists.

“Past people from here have headed the medical and dental council, they’re registrars heading some institutions.

“In terms of blood cancer like leukaemia, we have provided free treatment for decades.

“We provide primary care, secondary care, and tertiary care and we are the only teaching hospital in the country that is doing all the three simultaneously.

“In terms of tertiary care, we are a leading centre of excellence,” he stated.

The CMD expressed further that the institution pioneered renal transplant in the country and the only tertiary hospital providing routine open heart surgery.

He said the hospital is providing significant laparoscopic surgery daily and the only institution providing dental training to an array of residents in Nigeria.

“Our major contribution to healthcare services in Nigeria range from open heart surgery. We are the only one doing open heart surgery consistently especially in children with congenital heart disease.

“We also attend to adults that have coronary heart disease, after heart attacks you see people with heart damages and we do replace them in terms of vessels,” he emphasised.

Okeniyi maintained that the World Health Organisation has certified OAUTHC as a centre of excellence in newborn care.

“We are also partnering with Royal College of Paediatrics in London for child development.

“We have the largest paediatric surgical centre in Nigeria; we have the largest facility for Geriatric Centre in Nigeria and West Africa.

“This institution also pioneered measles vaccine, so we are doing excellently well.

“We run 10 different postgraduate training services and training functions at dentistry while people come nationwide for training here with full competent staff.

“We have 19 fully accredited programme for postgraduate training,” he stated.

The CMD commended the Federal Government for providing good leadership and finance needed for the hospital.

He added that government has increased allocation to the hospital by appropriating over N20 billion for capital projects, which he said would be judiciously utilised.

The CMD equally commended the staff for their commitment to service delivery, saying that the “hospital is functioning at 90 per cent in good services.” (NAN)(www.nannnews.ng)

Edited by Tayo Ikujuni