For Akpabio, that dream has become a reality
with the unveiling of the multipurpose hall last
week. But that seemed just a drop in the
ocean as the governor continues to go round
the state in the twilight of his administration
to commission 165 other projects that have
been completed in the state in recent weeks.
Among those projects are world-class specialist
hospital that costs about N30 billion and five-
star hotel that will be inaugurated today
according to schedule of activities in the state.
The 308-bed international specialist hospital,
billed for inauguration on Monday, May 25, is
an ultra-modern medical facility with six fully
integrated modular theatres that will redirect
medical tourism to Akwa Ibom State and the
country.
The hospital that is equipped with 640 slides
CT scan, digital mammography, endoscopy
surgery, highly sophisticated intensive care
units and medical gas plants is sitting on a
large landmass with paperless and fully
automated laboratories. It also has a helipad
to facilitate easy emergency movements to
and from the hospital. The entire hospital
system is also hooked up to a global system
for best practice.
In an interview Akpabio discussed the idea
behind the establishment of a hospital of this
magnitude. He said: “We lose billions of
dollars every year to medical trips abroad. We
have also lost a lot of people, not because we
don’t have the expertise in the country. We
needed a hospital that can run at
international standard. I decided to build
general hospitals in local governments that
did not have and in areas that are very
populated, even if the local government already
had one. I found out that what we have here
can go for a teaching hospital.
“We also decided to have a hospital that
would answer to the needs of Nigerians in
terms of advance health management and
that was why we built the Ibom Specialist
Hospital. It is not like a teaching hospital, it is
like a quaternary hospital, it is higher than a
teaching hospital. We are starting it with
about six modular theatres with equipments,
that if for instance you are doing a
cardiological investigation on a patient,
cardiologists from around the world can hook
up to the theatre and see real time what is
going on and make their contributions to the
examination and operation.
“That kind of hospital cannot be run by
government; we needed to hand it over to a
private sector. That is the one that will be a
revenue earner. So, instead of rich and
wealthy Nigerians and nationals of other
West African countries going abroad, it is
easier to come here. Sometimes, people die in
the air while being transported abroad for
treatment. We wanted to shorten travel time
for patients going abroad and at the same
time get revenue for the state from health
tourism. It is a beautiful concept, it is also
very big. It is comfort combined with excellence.
We have about 380 suites and so many
operating wards. We are starting with 150
expatriates all at once. We are in agreement
with a Swiss hospital group and an Arab
healthcare group in partnership with Cardio
Care in Lagos, which is a group of
cardiologists. We are providing a place for a
lot of Nigerian skilled personnel abroad to
come back home. We are providing a place
that is equal to where they are operating
from. The MRI system we have installed in
that hospital is the best in the whole of West
Africa. There is none in Nigeria today. We
went for the best because we want to save
lives.”