By Joseph Kingston, Calabar
Governor Ben Ayade has said that the Cross River state’s 140-bed specialist hospital, currently at an advanced stage of completion in Obudu, would be a reference point in Africa.
Speaking in Obudu, while inspecting the progress of work at the hospital, Ayade said that, given the reputation of the partners involved, Siemens and Coscharis, it would no doubt be a touchstone in quality healthcare in Africa.
“This is Siemens hospital basically. Siemens is number one in hospital equipment. Even in American hospitals, they have more of Siemens equipment, so we are convinced that our MRI, CT scan, radiology, diagnostics and dialysis equipment will be world-class,” Ayade disclosed.
He said he was convinced the hospital will be a first-class hospital especially given that it will have its own oxygen plant to produce oxygen, even as he disclosed that the hospital would have “a special COVID-19 unit, which will cater to COVID-19 patients in a special way with oxygen fully generated from within the system.”
The governor further explained that the hospital was fitted with a solar power system to guarantee 24-hour power supply, thus not being dependent on the national grid.
On the hospital’s bed capacity, the governor quipped: “We have a total of 120 beds, plus an additional 20 for those who are going into the recovery phase. So, we are going to have a total of 140 beds hospital.
“So, I am very excited this hospital will be the reference hospital for Africa, not just Nigeria. Before we took this design, we had studied all the hospitals in Nigeria in terms of all the critical equipment, even in Abuja, both public and private hospitals.
“We are convinced that the level of sophistication will be unmatched. Our dispensary unit has an outdoor station, you drive through, sit in your car and a robot delivers your drugs to you. You swipe your card, get your drugs and you are gone without any human interference. The human element is our secondary phase, should the robotic services fail you.
“We also have a partnership with a German firm for drug revolving program and also with Canadian team to support us with drugs. Of course, Cross River state has a pharmaceutical company. So, we will also be producing drugs as a state.
“The hospital will also buy drugs from the Calapharm. I think the circle is completely proper and the social benefit is unquantifiable. It’s a thing of joy for me.”