Unarguably, Associate Prof. Kingsley Achigbu’s tenure, first as the Medical Director of the then FMC, and now as its pioneer Chief Medical Director of the Federal Teaching Hospital, Owerri, is a success story.
As a seasoned administrator from CMAC, Acting MD before being appointed as its CEO, he knows the accruing benefits of working in synergy with the workforce. He restored peace and industrial harmony among the staff, unions, and management as soon as he stepped in. This enabled them to buy into his vision of transformation.
The ambiance of conviviality and peace among staff and management exhibited during the center’s 2018 Christmas Cantata still resonates today. Workers at the institution are no longer pitched in groups. As new projects are being attracted, he is not oblivious to staff welfare.
They are motivated, trained, and retrained to improve productivity. Obsolete equipment are replaced and new hi-tech ones purchased to enhance service delivery.
Through prudent management of scarce resources, the CMD and his team have been able to turn around the fortunes of the place. It is on record that during his eight and a half years of leadership, the centre did not record a single internal strife — a centre previously known for crisis. Research and training are going on ceaselessly. Doctors and paramedical graduates are being recruited on internship, while new staff are engaged as the need arises.
He envisions an institution that will present to an average Nigerian most answers to health challenges, so that issues of medical tourism will be reduced.
Within this period in question, 2018 to the present, the hospital has expanded its bed complement to over 700 and attendance is in excess of 300,000 yearly. With the number of ongoing projects in the centre, the bed capacity is projected to hit 850 by the end of 2025. The facility has over 84 full-time consultants and 46 part-time consultants, 817 nurses, pharmacists, 15 physiotherapists, 322 resident doctors, dental surgeons, and ophthalmologists.
As a teaching hospital, they have the clinical capacity to attend to the healthcare needs of the state and beyond. They have the tripartite mandate of healthcare delivery, training, and research. In his tenure, most areas of service have witnessed expansion both in infrastructure and scope, with the establishment of new departments such as Community Medicine, Cardiac Surgery, Neurofacial Surgery, Mental Health, Assisted Reproductive Unit (IVF), Procedure Clinic, Mirror Surgery, ICT Department, Innovation and Hospital Ventures Unit.
HIS GIANT STRIDES INCLUDE:
- Upgrading of the hospital from Federal Medical Centre to Federal Teaching Hospital — a dream of over four decades come true.
- Establishment of the hospital crèche.
- Tarring of some internal roads of the hospital.
- Installation of close-circuit cameras (CCTV) for 24-hour surveillance of strategic places in the hospital.
- Medical Oxygen Production Plant.
- Upgrading, restructuring, and equipping of the Renal Dialysis Center.
- Construction of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) building.
- Construction of Isolation Center.
- Construction of a Central Sterile Services Department (CSSD) building.
- Construction of House Officers’ Quarters at Umuamusa, Njaba.
- Reconstruction and relocation of the under-five building.
Ongoing Projects:
Accident and Trauma Centre, Construction of Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic/Maternity Ward, and the construction of Specialist Outpatient Building Complex.
Renovated Structures include:
Amenity Ward, General Outpatients Clinic (GOPC), Pharmacy Department Complex, Nursing Department, Umunama Outreach Center, and Umuamusa Outreach Center.
Acquisitions:
Installation of 33 KVA power plant in the centre, installation of 45 KVA generator set for OPD, 500 KVA Caterpillar engine for the OPD, acquisition of ambulances, purchase of a brand-new Nissan Stallion 18-seater bus, and acquisition of a brand-new Toyota Hilux van among others.
No doubt, the upgrading of the FMC to a Teaching Hospital and the provision of these high-impact projects will surely improve healthcare delivery for people in the state and beyond.
Assoc. Prof. Achigbu’s management style is in consonance with the hospital’s mission of providing excellent, accessible healthcare services using modern technology, training, and research with continuous capacity building in a friendly, conducive environment. His sterling legacy will inspire the incoming helmsman as his tenure gradually winds up.
Your employer, Mr. President, your supervisory Health Ministry, and our amiable Governor, Distinguished Senator Hope Uzodinma, deserve kudos for the repositioning of this hitherto federal medical centre into a Teaching Hospital.
Your indelible footprints will make them proud of you.
To God be the glory. Amen.
Mr. Ogaraku writes from Owerri
