Restoration: Efforts At Improving Healthcare Delivery In Bayelsa State
“Unless we put medical freedom into the Constitution the time will come when medicine will organize itself into an undercover dictatorship. To restrict the art of healing to doctors and deny equal privileges to others will constitute the Bastille of medical science. All such laws are un-American and despotic.” ---Benjamin Rush
The Restoration Administration of Governor Seriake Dickson set to transform Bayelsa Sate with a proactive agenda of a holistic development. Even the term Restoration bespeaks the thrust of the administration. Ostensibly, the Restoration Administration has done creditably in several sectors of the economy and the health sector is no exception.
Recognizing that health is wealth, the administration spearheaded a kind of “health revolution” in Bayelsa State especially in the first two years of the administration. Coming on the heels of the Great Flood of 2012, the administration surmounted the health problems of Ebola fever, Lassa fever and the most disturbing and prevalent malaria epidemic, which broke out after the flood.
The health challenges of the State came to limelight during the 2011 Governorship Campaigns. In almost all the communities, there were numerous achievements of the Restoration Administration and the people enumerated these health-related challenges like a menu to choices to be tackled by government.
Prior to this time, the health infrastructure of the State was dilapidated. There was general decay and existing health facilities were not given attention. On record several billions of Naira had been spent on the 500-bed hospital yet what was on ground was total obsolescence. Verily, it was difficult to believe that there was government at all, since a sector as important as health was completely neglected. Amidst this neglect, government officials in the past administration had a rendezvous with public money. As long as they their personal empires grew, development in the State lagged. It was a dangerous cocktail of self-aggrandizement to the detriment of the State. The health sector was so dismal that even curable diseases such as Malaria, cholera and dysentery killed children like bubonic plagues, and the people at the helm of affairs looked the other way. What was commonplace them was for people to travel long distances to access health facilities as rural health care utterly broke down.
The Restoration Administration had to come to the rescue. Governor Seriake Dickson hit the ground running by giving a marching order for the complete refurbishment of the 21 cottage hospitals and the existing three clinics. Of particular importance was the newly built the Igbogene hospital, the Oluasiri –Nembe hospital and the equipment of the Niger Delta Teaching Hospital at Okolobiri. Others are the Referral Hospital at Sagbama, Kaiama in Kolokuma/Opokuma Lgcal Government Area. There is of course the Diete-Koki memorial Hospital at Opolo Yenagoa which is now one of the best equipped with Radiology, Dentistry, Ophtamology Laboratory and pharmacy in the Niger Delta. There is also the comprehensive health centre at Azikoro Yenagoa. In Odi, we have a General Hospital which have been overhauled by government and the Toru Orua health Centre. We also have the Sagbama General Hospital, built by the Governor Seriake Dickson. All these are serviced by the Central Medical Store at Okutukutu. This is not including the Mala Sasime health facility at Igbogene.
There is now a renewed drive to complete the abandoned Okilo Memorial Hospital. The Bayelsa State Pharmaceutical Storage and distribution Centre is completed but not equipped yet at the moment because of the economic meltdown. With the renewed vigour in health consciousness, the HIV prevalent rate the state moves from top five down to the fifteenth position at 2.7%. In contract, Rivers State is top with 15.2% while Taraba is second with 10.5% prevalence rate. The State Malaria Elimination Programme was adjudged the second best in Nigeria of recent and this must be the result and perhaps the reason for development partners flooding the state of late.
Before the Restoration Administration, there were several on-going projects such as renovation of General Hospital, Sagbama, Renovation of the Multipurpose Hall - School of Nursing, Tombia, Construction of Primary Health Centre Isampou, upgrading of Diete-koki Memorial Hospital, Opolo amongst others. Most of these projects have been completed. The key elements of paradigm shift are from abandonment to resuscitation and from total neglect to government attention and priority. Some of the achievemts of the Restoration Administration in the health sector are hereby outlined.
These achievements are outlined according to the thematic areas of policies and Human/Infrastructural development plan of the Health Sector under the Restoration Government.
Leadership and Governance provide clear policy direction for health development to execute State strategic health care development plan Facilitate legislation and regulatory framework for Health Care Development Bill for State Primary Health Care Development Board (SPHCDB) sent to the State House of Assembly to be passed into law.
Health Service Delivery to provide financial access to health care especially the vulnerable groups. Provision of Health insurance, The Bayelsa Health Services Scheme (BHSS) established by the Restoration Government. Increase access to health care services Recruitment of Health Care professionals. Three Hundred and Sixty (360) recruited by the State Ministry of Health and was deployed to Federal Medical Centre Annex, Otuoke. Provision of Medical Equipment to all health facilities. Provision of Medical consumables to all health facilities. Assessment, Renovation and Expansion of existing health facilities in the 8 LGAs.
Construction of the Drug Storage and Distribution Centre, Yenagoa
Construction of the Bayelsa State Diagnostic Centre, Yenagoa
To improve quality of Healthcare Services Training and retraining of healthcare personnel.
To ensure effective referral system and linkages of referral networks. The overarching goal is to build one Referral Hospital in each LGA
Provision of ambulances, buses and river crafts for emergency Medical services (BEMS) and health facilities. Governor Seriake Dickson has achieved huge success in this area to enhance healthcare delivery in the riverine areas of the State.
C. Human Resources for Health: To formulate comprehensive polices and plans for HRH Biannual updating, recruitment, training and retraining of Health personnel. Specialist Doctors sponsored by the State on residency training and others in specialty trainings, e.g. Nurses, Midwives and Pharmacists.
To strengthen the capacity of training institutions for Health Care Human Resources, the following has been achieved; Establishment of a School of Midwifery, Tombia. Refurbishment/Upgrading of Bayelsa State School of Nursing. Accreditation for residency training programmes in NDUTH, Okolobiri Full accreditation for School of Nursing, Tombia.
Governor Seriake Dickson has adopted the wise assertion of Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw who said
“I want to be remembered as someone who put India on the scientific map of the world in terms of large innovation. I want to be remembered for making a difference to global healthcare. And I want to be remembered as someone who did make a difference to social economic development in India” Indeed Governor Seriake Dickson has shifted the mode of healthcare delivery where healthcare providers are motivated and recipients have value for their money. It is both effective, efficient and affordable.
Dave Asei is a member of the Bayelsa Social Media Team
to be contd.