FG to Provide 7 Radiotherapy Machines This Year, Says Adewole

…Promotes LUTH staff for resuming early

By Martins Ifijeh

As part of efforts to tackle the dearth of radiotherapy machines in Nigeria, the Minister for Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, has stated that the Federal Government was putting measures in place to provide at least seven cancer machines for the country every year.

He said, even though the country requires a minimum of 140 radiotherapy machines to treat the over two million cancer patients, Nigeria unfortunately has only eight machines, out of which only two or three works at any given time.

Adewole, who said this, while on a tour of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) at 9am last Friday, promoted the only staff in one of the units, Bukola olubode, a locum scientific officer, who he met on ground when he visited the laboratory.

While commending her for promptly resuming for work, he frowned at the lackadaisical attitudes of other staff of the unit who were not on ground as at the time he visited. “I have directed the Chief Medical Director to issue her a letter of commendation, and she will be promoted with immediate effect for adhering to the civil service rule in the area of resumption time. Every worker should resume at the scheduled time, as lateness to work will not be tolerated from any hospital or parastatal under the ministry,” he said.

Meanwhile, Adewole directed the hospital management to relocate all Accident and Emergency (A and E) patients who have stayed more than 24 hours in the unit to the various wards related to their ailment.

“No patient should be kept more than 24 hours in any A and E unit, as that will prevent the hospital from admitting more patients who may require the services of the emergency unit because the place is full. The decongestion is very important. It will free up the place to accommodate new cases,” Adewole explained.

He also called on the hospital and others across the country not to reject patients brought to their A and E wards due to congestion or lack of money. “No patient should be rejected because he or she has no money to pay. The first thing should be to stabilise the person, make sure he or she gets everything needed to get stabilised, before thinking of any other thing.

In his contribution, the Chief Medical Director of LUTH, Prof. Chris Bode said the hospital does not reject patients, even if what brought them to the hospital involved gun shot wounds. “Whether the patient has money or not, as long as the case requires attention, the A and E unit does not reject them. Same practise extends to people with gun shot wounds. We would rather treat them, then afterwards, activate the security agents, to come find out what led to the gun shot wounds,” he added.