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Reports reaching the desk of The Eastern Updates has it that the accreditation of the Abia State University Teaching Hospital (ABSUTH) to graduate medical students has been restored by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN).
This is coming about three years after the accreditation was withdrawn by the council.
This was disclosed to the Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, by the Commissioner for Health, Dr Ngozi Okoronkwo, on Friday, after the Accreditation Team of the MDCN, who had been in Abia to inspect the state of facilities and other prerequisites had concluded their visit and reached a verdict.
“We just concluded our meeting with the team. To the glory of God, we have full accreditation to graduate medical students for the next five years; increase in our admission quota from 120 to 150 per session; renewed accreditation to train 60 house officers per annum for the next four years.
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“The number can be increased if we employ more full time consultants in the department of pediatrics. Thanks immensely. We are most grateful to the Executive Governor and to you. Remain blessed,” read a message sent to Dr Okoronkwo by a member of the Abia State University Accreditation Committee, led by the Vice Chancellor, Professor Maxwell Ogbulu.
Meanwhile, Governor Otti has sworn that never again would the State’s apex health learning institution, ABSUTH, be allowed to lose its accreditation by the regulatory authorities.
Governor Otti spoke on Thursday when he received the Accreditation Team of the MDCN, who had visited him at Nvosi, Isialangwa, as matter of courtesy.
The Governor assured that his government would look into all shortcomings identified by the accreditation team with a view to attending to them timeously.
He said his administration would do it’s best to remedy the lapses, adding that the restoration of accreditation to ABSUTH was a major priority to his government.
Governor Otti remarked that the essence of governance is for the promotion of welfare and security of the people, hence the resolve of his administration to dedicate 20% and 15% of the state’s 2024 annual budget to education and health, respectively.
The Governor also assured that his administration was committed to the proper staffing of all healthcare institutions in the state even as he stated that his focus was to ensure that Abians and residents had unhindered access to quality healthcare.
Speaking earlier, the Registrar Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, Dr. Tajudeen Adisa Sanusi, represented by the Deputy Registrar, Dr. Nnaemeka Nwakanma, thanked Governor Otti for the infrastructural uplift being witnessed in Abia State, but particularly in ABSUTH and other health institutions in the state.
The Vice Chancellor, Abia State University (ABSU), Professor Maxwell Ogbulu; the pioneer Provost, ABSUTH, Professor Akpuaka; the Acting Provost, ABSUTH, Associate Professor John Chikezie; and other management staff of the institution were present during the visit by the MDCN accreditation team.
