Healthcare: Yobe Govt engages foreign doctors, consultants
NAN-HG-7
Doctors
Damaturu, March 14, 2017 (NAN) The Yobe Government says it has engaged 17 foreign medical doctors and 11 local consultants to improve healthcare delivery in the state.
Dr Garba Fika, the Executive Secretary, Hospitals Management Board, disclosed this on Tuesday while addressing newsmen in Damaturu.
According to him, the 17 doctors are from Egypt and they would be expected to serve in 13 hospitals across the state.
The 11 specialists, he said, were recruited from the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) to provide consultancy services in the state.
The secretary explained that the Egyptian doctors were subjected to vigorous professional screening at various levels by professional bodies both in Egypt and Nigeria to prove their competence before being engaged by the state government.
“The condition is that they will be on probation for six months after which they will be allowed to continue or not.
“Anyone, however, found wanting will be disengaged immediately,” he said.
Fika said the state would soon become a medical hub in view of its growing number of specialists in various fields providing specialised medical services.
He listed the engagement of the specialists, the Egyptian doctors and the commencement of the medical college of the state university as major boosts to providing efficient healthcare delivery at the doorstep of the people.
“These investments will attract patients from other states seeking medical services and curb medical tourism, as the people of the state will no longer travel out in search of medical services,” he said.
According to the scribe, the state currently has 80 medical doctors and 611 nurses on its employ.
“The 300 medical students in various institutions within and outside the country sponsored by the state government will serve the state after the completion of their studies,” he said.
He commended the state government for rehabilitating and remodelling four hospitals to enhance service delivery.
He listed the hospitals as the Sani Abacha Specialist Hospital in Damaturu and general hospitals in Potiskum, Gashua and Geidam. (NAN)
MM/MAS/MST
Edited by Moses Solanke/Muhammad Suleiman Tola