Dr. Reuben Maifantaya Ardo, Managing Director, Gombe State Specialist Hospital; a Fellow of the Corporate Administrative Institute (FCAI ), in this interview with BEN NGWAKWE in Gombe, complains of inadequate funds to run the hospital.
SINCE your assumption as the Managing Director of Gombe State Specialist Hospital, what have you noticed as challenges facing the hospital?
Basically, the main challenge of this Hospital is mainly finance. The hospital running costs on the lower side while the hospital has grown the number of beds has increased drastically but the running cost has not yet increased and even the staffing has also increased but these are the main challenges for now. The Government has assured us of addressing them soonest.
How soon?
We have received assurances from the Government that they are going to do something about it as Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo had placed health sector as one of his highest priorities of his administration.
How many beds do you have now?
We have 350 beds as of now and over 500 staff strength with non-staff strength of 142 while cleaning and security guards were contracted to various companies for efficiency and effectiveness.
How do you procure drugs and how affordable the drugs to rural patients?
We procure drugs through Drugs Revolving Fund (DRF) that the Government runs, the Government buys drugs and now sell it to the patients at subsidized rate that is at a very affordable and cheaper rate which could be accessible to patients, so we get our drugs from the Main Store in the Pharmacy Store and we now sell it to the patients at a very subsidized rate that is genuine drugs.
What is the cost of your drugs and do you have foreign partners?
Like I said the drugs are subsidized by Government and the patients buy their drugs and we manage them here and we do not have foreign partners at the moment.
How do you source funds apart from Government intervention?
It is through the National Health Insurance Scheme and payments from patients.
Do you have enough hospital equipment?
So far so good, like Oliver Twist we still look for more and we are still trying because the Government procures some equipment we are hoping to get very soon and they are in the process of distributing them and we are hoping to get them very soon.
Is the equipments enough?
It is not enough but we are still managing them.
What is the level of Government’s commitment to the health sector?
Government has shown a lot of commitment generally to health sector by changing the health sector by providing equipment, construction of hospitals and recruitment of health personnel and procurement of drugs which had made health sector accessible to the people of Gombe state. When we started initially, there were a lot of problems facing them like electricity but they source the facility manager that they gave out and we are having constant diesel supply from the facility managers so we now have diesel to supply the electricity to the hospital so we now have electricity source, so our surgeries and patients get electricity even though there is no power from the National grid.
What is the level of welfare of workers so far?
Government implemented COHENS and CONWSS fully to all the staff to my best of knowledge, I think in the North East zone, we are the best paid and we are not owing Government anything, the Government is paying and we are getting our salaries on time.
What of the area of training?
The doctors have been given their trainings and every year, the staff gives proposals as the courses they want to undergo and like doctors, they have residence training and Government sponsors them. For the North East Zone, most of them go for post-visit, some of them go for B.SC Nursing and the Government is sponsoring them.
How many are there?
Certainly, I cannot give exact figures but there are so many on training.
What can you say is your achievements in the one year you have been Managing Director?
Well, there is stable electricity supply, stable supply of water and the staffs are well motivated and patients’ relationship with the management has improved and generally, the nurses are more caring, patients now appreciate the care they are getting from the Nurses.
What support has government been giving?
Government has been doing well because we are receiving our salaries on time and a lot of things have being put in place, they built Intensive Care Unit which is going to be commissioned very soon, there is dialysis unit has been constructed which is going to be commissioned very soon, there is also a new Laundering Unit to be equipped very soon. So, there are a lot of innovations and there is plans also to increasing physiology department is going to be constructed, there is plans on Trauma Unit, there is plans on the construction of Cool Duty Room, so there are many things on ground, this could be recorded as my modest achievements so far.