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Abia State Government has revealed that it is currently reconstructing three specialist hospitals in the state to meet international standards.
Commissioner for Information in the state, Prince Okey Kanu, who revealed this while addressing journalists in Umuahia on Monday, explained that the specialist hospitals would be installed with some modern innovations as seen abroad.
Briefing journalists on the outcome of the State Executive Council meeting, Prince Kanu, said the state governor, Dr Alex Otti, has directed the relevant departments to ensure that the solar power project at the SDG hospital located in Ugwunagbo is operationalised immediately; adding that with the directive, the hospital staff and patients would experience constant power supply.
He used the opportunity to disclose that the government has approved the implementation of the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) for Local Government workers in the state.
“This commendable move makes Abia State one of the few states in the country that pays the federal government Consolidated Health Salary Structure”.
He disclosed that the functionalisation of the second batch of 52 renovated and equipped Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) is in progress across the state.
Kanu explained that Abians are already patronising the PHCs in line with the governor’s vision for the health sector, even as he announced that the state government is collaborating with world-class hospitals in Sweden and other global health institutions on a number of medical outreach programmes in the state.
On recruitment of health workers by the government, Kanu maintained that the recruitment portal for the recruitment has been reopened, adding that vacancies exist for ophthalmologists, medical officers, dental officers, as well as part-time and full-time consultants.
Speaking on the Light Up Abia Initiative of the government, the Abia information boss stated that the initiative has continued to make progress, adding that the installation of a 300 kVA-0.35 kVA transformer substation is in progress, while the survey for the Ohafia routing of 33 kVA line from Ihechiowa to Asaga, Ohafia, covering a distance of 27.69 km, is also in progress.
Prince Kanu assured that the administration of Dr Alex Otti would not issue a change in terms of land acquired for projects, stressing that any land that the government acquires would be used for the project for which it was acquired.
On his part, the Commissioner for Health, Prof. Enoch Ogbonnaya Uche, said the government needed to confirm the exact number of health workers in the LGAs before approving the CONHESS, explaining that the CONHESS, has now removed any dichotomy in the health care workers.
According to him, about 500 nurses are undergoing documentation having been recruited through the transparent process of the state government.
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