AKPABIO'S BUILT IBOM SPECIALIST HOSPITAL FINALLY TAKES OFF

The Akwa Ibom state government owned specialist hospital has eventually commenced operations, the hospital now officially known as Ibom Specialist Hospital is opening six months after its commissioning by the state’s former Governor, Chief Godswill Akpabio.

FRONT VIEW OF THE IBOM SPECIALIST HOSPITAL

Chief Akpabio had some time back explained that the hospital had not taken off because the foreign doctors supposed to work there were yet to be cleared by the Nigerian Immigration Service to travel to the country. He had said the hospital was to start off with 150 expatriates.

The explanation came after questions were asked why Chief Akpabio in September, 2015 had to travel to the United Kingdom for medical attention after a car accident he had in Abuja, where he is now in the Senate holding the post of Minority Leader, abandoning the multibillion naira hospital his administration stated was of world class standard and higher in status than a teaching hospital in Nigeria.

With the arrival of 25 foreign doctors to the state and their deployment to test run equipment, work at the hospital has started while awaiting the remaining 125 as Premium Times reports. It has not been stated how many Nigerian doctors would be employed at the new hospital.

INSIDE THE IBOM SPECIALIST HOSPITAL

At the hospital, mostly Indians doctors were seen carrying out medical examinations for free on the people who came to the hospital for treatment. One of the doctors observed that the hospital is a standard one that could be compared to any hospital anywhere in the world. However, it was noted that the hospital was yet to dispense drugs because the hospital’s pharmacy department was not ready.

The hospital, however, is not expected to start full services until January 2016 as support staff who need to handle the technical infrastructure of the hospital have to be trained among other constraints.