Health
PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday inaugurated a state-of-the-art speciality eye hospital in Abuja.
The president was represented by Mr Goodluck Opiah, Minister of State, Education at the event.
He said that the hospital would complement the Federal Government’s efforts reducing medical tourism by its citizens.
“With the commissioning of Skipper Eye-Q Super Speciality Hospital, the frequency with which Nigerians travel abroad to seek medical attention including eye treatment with the attendant financial drain on the country will be reduced.”
The president said that with over 1,500 successful cataract surgeries,1,500 glaucoma and retina surgeries, the hospital had contributed immensely to healthcare delivery in Nigeria.
He assured the international community that the present administration would continue to provide an enabling environment for foreign and local investors.
Mr Jitender Sachdeva, the founding partner of the hospital, said that bringing the hospital to Abuja was a strategic plan to bring its services close to the north.
“We have two hospitals in Lagos, and we perform almost 100 surgeries in a month and most of these patients are from the north.
” So, we thought why not come close to the north, and there was no better option than Abuja because it is a place that has a mixture of middle, lower and upper class.”
Sachdeva said that the equipment in the Abuja hospital was the latest technology available both for surgeries and routine checks so that Nigerians would get the best eye care.
He said that Nigeria had a flourishing economy just as it was an investment destination and urged other foreign companies to invest in the country.
For his part, Dr Charles Ugwanyi, Chairman, Nigeria Medical Association, (NMA) FCT Chapter said the eye hospital could not have come to Abuja at a better time.
According to him, having successfully treated over one million patients for eye related issues, the hospital is indeed a huge advantage to Nigeria.
“We look forward to a Nigeria that our health indices will improve so much so that Nigerian hospitals will open branches in UK, Dubai and other countries.”
Ugwuanyi called for an enabling environment where Nigerian doctors would be proud to work in Nigerian hospitals and stop moving abroad in their thousands.
In a short remark, the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Alkali Usman, said he made effort to personally attend the opening of the hospital as an attestation to the tremendous benefits it had to Nigeria.
“When I heard that the hospital was opening its branch in Abuja, I said I will come and tell Nigerians that in as much as it will improve their business, it will benefit Nigerians much more.”
He said he had visited the Skipper hospital in India and that the Abuja hospital was as well-equipped as the one in India, adding that no Nigerian needed to travel abroad for eye care again.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the highpoint of the occasion was the cutting of the tape by the president to formally open the doors of the hospital to residents of Abuja.(NAN)
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Tags: Goodluck Opiah Muhammadu Buhari Skipper Eye-Q Super Speciality Hospital
