The
Special Baby Care Unit of Lagos State University Teaching Hospital
(LASUTH) will be ready in December, Health Commissioner Dr Jide Idris
has said.
Idris, who made this known on Tuesday,
during inspection of the project, said: “The special baby care unit will
be the baby factory of Lagos. It is going to be the apex of the entire
maternal and childcare units in Lagos as well as a referral centre.
“The facility was initially scheduled
for a year but will be due in nine months. We had a change of
contractors because the initial contractors disappointed us, I think
they ran into financial problems and we tried to bail them out a couple
of times that is why the Ministry of Works terminated the contract, and
the project given to a new contractor. Getting a new contractor has its
own problems because they were not part of the initial plan and need to
understand the intricacies of that design. Most people always shy away
from it, but this contractor, Bertley and Jacob, accepted it and has
assured us that it will be due in no time.”
Dr. Idris said safety was the ministry’s
major priority in taking charge of the project, adding: “The reason
behind this big project is because most of the hospitals we have in the
state were built a long time ago, some were not properly built, some
have been overused and the patient load on them and the cost of usage
they face are huge and constitutes challenges now, Dr. Jide said.
He said the process of renovating was in
line with the government’s decision and we are in the position to
provide better services to the people and more facilities to scale up
the services provided. People will now know that we have a special care
baby unit.
“I’m aware of the anxiety of Lagosians
about this building. I know the importance people place on it and we are
as anxious as the people to ensure that this is completed in good
time.”
LASUTH’s Chief Medical Director Prof
Adewale Oke said: “It is supposed to be a year programme but the
contractors are working so hard to make sure they complete it in nine
months compared to the level of work done before the stoppage. Now the
windows are there and by December we are going to have our baby factory
back to its maximum production.”
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