‘How Tinubu, Sanwo-Olu’s investments sustained public health in Lagos’

The socioeconomic development strides recorded within the public health sector in Lagos state thus far is worthy of emulation, the management of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) has said.

Specifically, the management of the tertiary institution lauded the former Lagos State governor Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the current Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for their support and contribution to tertiary health service provision in Lagos State.

The giant strides recorded by both leaders have helped in no small measure to improve the health sector in the state, the management of the tertiary institution stressed.

Making these remarks on Wednesday was Prof. Adetokunbo O. Fabamwo, the Chief Medical Director of LASUTH.

He spoke at a speciality medical screening event held at the Ojokoro Local Council Development Area, LCDA. The screening was particularly for two common potentially blindness causing eye conditions, cataract and glaucoma. The LASUTH team mounted screening points both within the premises of the LCDA Secretariat as well as the Oba of Ojokoro’s palace grounds.

According to Fabamwo, the efforts and contributions of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate as Lagos State Governor (1999/2007) towards promoting the health status of Lagosians was unprecedented.

The LASUTH boss recalled that “In 2001, the Asiwaju Bola Tinubu administration established the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital and ensured significant infrastructural and manpower development to make it attain a prime status among other similar institutions.”

Prof. Fabamwo further reiterated that even though subsequent administrations contributed their quota towards the development of the hospital, the current administration of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu brought about an unprecedented exponential upgrade.

He gave the example, among many others, of the approval and support for the establishment of a Cardiac Catheterisation Laboratory, the first in a public state owned teaching hospital in Nigeria.

The well trained interventional cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons in the hospital are able to perform many lifesaving procedures in the laboratory and indeed, many of such procedures have been successfully carried out in the recent past, he stressed.

“Recently, a well-known public figure was referred from a hospital in South East Nigeria for an advanced interventional cardiology procedure. Mr Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu sponsored the cost of the surgery.

The Chief Medical Director then declared that this specialised screening programme was to showcase the contribution of the teaching hospital towards the full achievement of a segment of the THEMES agenda of Mr. Governor and give something back to one of the communities in Lagos State.

He pledged that the hospital will make the advanced skills and knowledge residing within its health personnel available to other communities in the future. He also disclosed that the exercise is fully sponsored by some friends of the hospital.

In his remarks, the Chairman of the Ojokoro LCDA, Hon. Ahmed Idowu Daniel Tijani lauded the achievements of the hospital in the last 20 years and appreciated its kind gesture in bringing the specialised screening exercise to Ojokoro LCDA.

He said it would go a long way in easing the health burden of the people of the area.

He added that since the objective of the programme is the detection and subsequent treatment of people suffering from glaucoma and cataract, citizens who would not ordinarily have known that they have such eye conditions will be better informed.

Also commenting on the programme, the paramount ruler of Ojokoro Land, Ìba Rilwan Oluwalambe Taiwo said he was very grateful to LASUTH for bringing the programme to his domain, stressing that members of the community welcomed the opportunity to get free eye screening.

He said: “We appreciate LASUTH and indeed the local council. We wish to assure Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and his entire team that we shall reciprocate their kind gestures by mobilising the community in his second term bid by casting our votes for him.”

The highpoints of the occasion was the screening of over 500 indigent members for eye conditions, especially glaucoma and cataract.

The CMD of LASUTH, Professor Fabamwo also hinted that there would be aftercare services for patients in whom these conditions are detected.

One of the beneficiaries, Adewale Francis, a 65 year old retiree said he was happy to be a part of the medical outreach, especially the eye screening. Francis, who noted that he heard about the exercise from his church, confirmed that a lot of people welcomed the timely intervention as it enabled the indigent members of the community to benefit from a programme capable of improving their health status.