…Facility Unavailable For Decades
By Wole Adedeji, Ilorin
A special Eye Care Centre, said to be unavailable over the years at the Kwara State General Hospital, Ilorin, has been built and formerly handed over to the hospital.
The newly constructed multi-million naira centre is now said to commence function immediately as directed by the governor, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, according to sources.
The General Hospital for some decades was used by the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital UITH, and Kwara State government suspended her responsibilities on the facility for the period that it lasted.
However, according to findings, the immediate past administration in the state embarked on a comprehensive renovation and restructuring of the hospital, but with some vital facilities left uncaptured in the exercise.
Such facilities, according to sources, included the Eye Care Centre.
However, the Eye Centre, which is now completed had been handed over to the Chief Medical Director, CMD, of the hospital for immediate commencement of eye care service delivery to the people of Kwara State, according to a statement by the Ministry of Communication in Ilorin.
The statemend said, “This followed the completion of the construction work and installation of medical and eye care specific instruments at the multi-million naira project, aimed at providing qualitative eye care service delivery in a serene and tranquil environment.
“It is an environment that supports optimal health care, prevents transmission of infections and duly equipped with modern eye care diagnostic and therapeutic devices.”
The handing over was done by the Director, Planning Research and Statistics of the state Ministry of Health, Mrs. Iyabo Fabiyi, who stood in for her commissioner.
While handing over the relevant keys and documents to the General Hospital, she charged the health workers at the centre to ensure that the centre is put to optimal use in order to serve the people, pointing out that necessary strategies were deployed to make the centre a first choice place for eye care service uptake in the North Central geo-political zone of the country.
The CMD, Dr. Bola Ahmed, who later introduced the Consultant Ophthalmologist in charge of the facility, Dr. Mrs. Khadijat Olanipekun-Lawal, to the visiting team from the ministry, applauded the state government for fulfilling her pledge of making the General Hospital a pride of place in the country.
