ESUTH gets N500m surgical upgrade as Mbah pushes for top-tier medical excellence

Health

ENUGU, Nigeria (NPA) — The administration of Governor Peter Ndubuisi Mbah has installed new surgical equipment and upgraded medical facilities valued at more than N500 million at the Enugu State University Teaching Hospital (ESUTH), Parklane, as part of efforts to transform the institution into a world-class tertiary healthcare and specialist training centre.

The initiative is ultimately aimed at positioning ESUTH among the leading teaching hospitals in Nigeria.

The Chief Medical Director of ESUTH, Prof. Bethrand Ngwu, disclosed this over the weekend while conducting Government House correspondents on an inspection of the upgraded facilities, including the main theatre, Accident and Emergency Department and specialised equipment for complex surgical procedures.

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Ngwu said the upgrades had strengthened the hospital’s capacity to provide faster and more specialised care while supporting postgraduate medical training and professional accreditation.

“Those machines provided by His Excellency, Dr Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, are all aimed at postgraduate accreditation by these two big institutions, the National Postgraduate Medical College and the West African College of Surgeons,” he said.

He said the improvements also aimed to enhance patient care, particularly for emergency cases, with the upgraded Accident and Emergency Department being developed as an autonomous unit where patients could undergo investigations and receive immediate treatment without unnecessary movement between departments.

“When he came, the Accident and Emergency was empty. But now you can see how beautiful it is looking. That is what he wants. He wants here to look beautiful, efficient and functional. And that is where we are going,” Ngwu said.

He explained that emergency patients would be able to undergo tests and receive immediate treatment within the unit, while those requiring surgery could be operated on there before being transferred to the ward after stabilisation.

Ngwu said the new equipment had also expanded ESUTH’s capacity for specialised procedures, including neurosurgery. The neurosurgical theatre now has new operating tables, ventilators and specialised anaesthetic equipment fitted with capnography, which monitors carbon dioxide levels during complex operations.

The CMD said ESUTH had recorded several accreditation successes since 2023, stressing that accreditation was essential because resident doctors must train in accredited programmes before taking professional examinations.

“Accreditation is a regular thing. Because if you do not have accreditation, you cannot even go for professional examination,” he said.

He added that ESUTH had recently received accreditation from the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) for undergraduate medical training, with its MBBS quota subsequently increased to 350 students.

According to him, the hospital had secured five-year accreditations from the National Postgraduate Medical College and the West African College of Surgeons in areas including Family Medicine, Anaesthesia, Physiotherapy and Radiography.

He said the School of Nursing had also been upgraded to a College of Nursing, while another round of postgraduate accreditation exercises was scheduled for October, including reviews of the Accident and Emergency and Surgery departments.