Plateau State Govt. is set to inaugurate an 80-bed capacity hospital at Riyom, headquarters of Riyom Local Government Area, as part of its efforts ensure access to quality health care service delivery in rural areas.
The Commissioner of Health, Dr Nimkong Ndam, while inspecting the installation of equipment at the hospital at Riyom on Thursday, said Gov. Simon Lalong had given February as the deadline for the inauguration of the facility and expressed optimism that the deadline was feasible.
Ndam expressed satisfaction with the quality of equipment and physical structure at the hospital,saying once the installation was completed, there would be a test-run before the facility would commence skeletal services.
“The hospital currently has an 80-bed capacity but there is room for more expansion. It was handed over to my ministry in 2016 while the hospital equipment were provided in 2019.
” The equipment are of standard; it is what can be used anywhere in the world. We still have five units under construction comprising the accident and emergency unit, patients and relationship shade,canteen and the Doctors and Nurses quarters,to be completed soon with the availability of resources,”he said.
He, however, decried the recent vandalism of the hospital’s transformer and generator, saying there was an enforcement of security measures to forestall a re-occurrence of the incident in the future.
Mr Anfo Mann,the project supervisor of the hospital, said the construction which was previously 50 per cent completed before the inception of the administration of Lalong, had now reached 95 per cent completion with all hospital equipment supplied.
Also speaking, the installation supervisor, Mr Ojerinde Charles, said the hospital had all the diagnostic equipment available which were critical in health care service delivery.
“We have the X-ray machine,ultrasound, a Theatre with equipment for proper surgical procedure including operating light, four delivery beds, incubators and anaesthetic machine.
” The hospital has more than 50 oxygen cylinders and all its beds are equipped with bedside lockers and drip stand, we have completed 90 per cent installation of the hospital equipment, “he said.
News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that construction of the hospital began in 2004 with the aim of ensuring that general hospitals were established in all the 17 local governments areas of the state.
