Abuja To Become Medical Centre of Excellence -FCT Minister

…Restates Support to NMA

By: Wisdom Acka

Work has already commenced on the construction of a 500-bed hospital that would make Abuja a medical centre of excellence.

Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Mallam Muhammad Musa Bello made this disclosure Wednesday, while speaking to a delegation of Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), who paid him a courtesy call in his office at Area 11, Garki District, Abuja.

The Minister said that Abuja is gradually and surely becoming a centre of medical excellence; revealing that Afrexim Bank is building a very big centre of 500-bed capacity medical centre to cater for West Africa.

His words: “The first phase is 200 beds and we are supporting them. They have already started work and quite a few other private sector organizations are involved”.

Reiterating continued support of the FCT Administration to the Association in the delivery of quality healthcare services to residents, Bello pledged to also assist them to successfully carry out their planned medical outreach in Abuja.

He stressed that since many members of the NMA FCT were staff of the Administration, it meant they (FCTA and NMA) were all partners in progress, even as he reassured: “I wish you all the best and I assure you that the FCT Administration will continue to dialogue with you and see whatever we can do to provide very high standard medicare to residents.”

To help alleviate the challenge of residential accommodation confronting Doctors, especially in the satellite towns, Bello said that efforts were being made to provide housing for the duration of their stay in the satellite areas.

On a request for housing of the NMA members, the Minister noted that housing was a big challenge; assuring that “any doctor or nurse or senior medical personnel that gets posted to a satellite facility should be able to get accommodated, hoping.

Earlier, the Chairman of the NMA FCT Chapter, Dr. Charles Ugwuanyi, who led the delegation explained that the visit was to introduce the new executive committee of the Association to the Minister and commend him for the Administration’s continued support.