Health
UPTH Begins Medical Awareness Radio Programmes
The management of University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital UPTH, says the hospital has commenced medical awareness radio programmes with the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, FRCN, ( Radio Nigeria) on its health-care service delivery to the masses.
The management said, during the radio programmes, all departments of the hospital where specialists in all fields are expected to give useful medical information to the public for necessary proactive and needful interventions.
The Chief Medical Director of UPTH, Prof Henry Arinze Ugboma disclosed this to The Tide shortly after its 2019 Thanksgiving and End of the Year Programme held at the hospital auditorium on Monday.
The UPTH Thanksgiving Service which has its Theme, “Cerebrating Gods Faithfulness and Fruitfulness”, was garced by the management and staff of the hospital chaired by the CMD.
Prof Ugboma said since assumption of office, there has been a strong synergy among the board,hospital management and the entire staff of the hospital.
He said UPTH under his watch had recorded a great deal of achievement in areas of staff welfare, employment, training and conference sponsorships.
Others, he said include, promotion of deserving staff, expansion of facilities and the commencement of work at all abandoned projects
The Director said the UPTH Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, has improved, due to the introduction of computerized payments system three months ago.
He also said the hospital had recorded great deal of improvement on out. Patients monthly clinic attendance from 780 to 15,000, monthly admission from 500 to 900 patients, surgeries also rose from 400 to 900.
Other areas of achievement, include, Accidents and Emergency monthly attendance rose from 450 to 1,500.
Prof Ugboma said as parts of its achievement, the hospital has acquired C – ARM, CT Scan and other critical equipment that are specialty relevant as it have reflected in all the clinical and non clinical departments.
He lamented that UPTH have staff deficits in many clinical department and management has begin the necessary consultations to undertake the necessary remediation while management remains committed to the growth of the hospital.n
The Medical Director appeal to the staff to always reciprocate the gestures of the management by committing themselves meritoriously to the task of quality health care service delivery for the well being of then patients
On funding, he said, the hospital is faced with paucity of funds due to many projects confronting them, making efforts to sustain quality and regular power supply and ensuring safety of staff and facilities.
Earlier, the Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee CMAC UPTH, Prof Princewill Stanley said the Thanksgiving service and the End of year were aimed at thanking God for all his mercies to the hospital.
“Having gone through almost 365 days in 2019 in a very busy tertiary institution, we have every reason to say thank you our Father and our God., he said.
“We have come to celebrate celestial joy and excitement this season brings to us, looking back two years ago when the challenges of sustaining health care in this facility became a great source of worry , today when the faithfulness of God has appeared upon us chasing away the gloom of the past, it is not by might nor by power, but by the mercies of God that we have regained out strength as a five star tertiary institution” Stanley said.
Highlights of the occasion was the cutting of cake which was graced by the Chairman, Board of management, UPTH, Alhaji Murkta Anka and the entire management and staff of the hospital
Two United States scientists who unraveled the human micro RNA have won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2024.
Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun won the coveted prize for their work on microRNA as their discoveries help explain how complex life emerged on earth and how the human body is made up of a wide variety of different tissues.
MicroRNAs influence how genes – the instructions for life – are controlled inside organisms, including humans.
Every cell in the human body contains the same raw genetic information, locked in our DNA.
However, despite starting with the identical genetic information, the cells of the human body are wildly different in form and function.
The electrical impulses of nerve cells are distinct from the rhythmic beating of heart cells. The metabolic powerhouse that is a liver cell is distinct to a kidney cell, which filters urea out of the blood.
The light-sensing abilities of cells in the retina are different in skillset to white blood cells that produce antibodies to fight infection.
So much variety can arise from the same starting material because of gene expression.
The US scientists were the first to discover microRNAs and how they exerted control on how genes are expressed differently in different tissues.
The medicine and physiology prize winners are selected by the Nobel Assembly of Sweden’s Karolinska Institute.
They said: “Their groundbreaking discovery revealed a completely new principle of gene regulation that turned out to be essential for multicellular organisms, including humans.
“It is now known that the human genome codes for over 1,000 microRNAs.”
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has begun acting to curb effects of antibiotic pollution.
The new guidance on wastewater and solid waste management for antibiotic manufacturing sheds light on this important but neglected challenge ahead of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) High-Level Meeting on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) taking place on 26 September 2024.
The emergence and spread of AMR caused by antibiotic pollution could undermine the effectiveness of antibiotics globally, including the medicines produced at the manufacturing sites responsible for the pollution.
Despite high antibiotic pollution levels being widely documented, the issue is largely unregulated and quality assurance criteria typically do not address environmental emissions. In addition, once distributed, there is a lack of information provided to consumers on how to dispose of antibiotics when they are not used, for example, when they expire or when a course is finished but there is still antibiotic left over.
“Pharmaceutical waste from antibiotic manufacturing can facilitate the emergence of new drug-resistant bacteria, which can spread globally and threaten our health. Controlling pollution from antibiotic production contributes to keeping these life-saving medicines effective for everyone,” said Dr Yukiko Nakatani, WHO Assistant Director-General for AMR ad interim.
Globally, there is a lack of accessible information on the environmental damage caused by manufacturing of medicines.
“The guidance provides an independent and impartial scientific basis for regulators, procurers, inspectors, and industry themselves to include robust antibiotic pollution control in their standards,” said Dr Maria Neira, Director, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health, WHO. “Critically, the strong focus on transparency will equip buyers, investors and the general public to make decisions that account for manufacturers’ efforts to control antibiotic pollution.”
In a concerted effort to curb brain drain, the Kebbi State Government has harmonised medical doctors’ salaries to be at par with their colleagues in the federal government’s tertiary health facilities.
Kebbi State Commissioner for Health, Musa Inusa-Isma’il, disclosed this at the handing over of ambulances to the state-owned health facilities at the Ministry of Health in Birnin Kebbi yesterday.
Inusa Isma’il, according to a statement by Ahmed Idris, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, said the essence of the harmonisation was to retain the existing medical doctors and attract more to the services of the state.
According to him, the doctors across the state had already started enjoying the new salaries from August 2024.
He said the release of the vehicles was in fulfilment of Governor Nasir Idris’ promise to uplift health care services in the state.
“His Excellency said I should inform you, the beneficiaries of this gesture, that the vehicle should be strictly used for the intended purpose. It should not be used for anything else.
“If there is no referral case, each of the vehicles must be parked at the hospital by 6 pm. The governor said you should warn your drivers against reckless driving as well as violating the instructions.
“We should also do everything possible to reciprocate the gesture by working according to the terms and conditions attached,” he advised.
The benefiting health facilities included Sir Yahaya Memorial Hospital, Birnin Kebbi; State Teaching Hospital, Kalgo; General Hospital, Argungu; General Hospital, Yauri; General Hospital, Zuru; and General Hospital, Bunza.
In his speech, the permanent secretary of the ministry, Dr Shehu Koko, recalled that the ambulances were handed over to the ministry last Friday by the governor for the onward handover to the benefiting hospitals.
He observed that the ambulances would go a long way in improving the referral system in the state, adding that delays in reaching the secondary and tertiary facilities would be eliminated.
The permanent secretary attributed the high rate of maternal mortality in the country to delays in getting to the health facilities for proper medical care.
“We believe with the provision of these ambulances, part of the gaps we have in our referral system will be addressed, whereby patients who require secondary healthcare could be easily transported to secondary and tertiary health centres, where they can get such help,” he said.
In a goodwill message, Commissioner for Information and Culture Alhaji Yakubu Ahmed expressed gratitude to the governor for the support he has given to the ministry to excel.
While advising the beneficiaries to use the vehicles judiciously, the commissioner advised that services and maintenance of the vehicles must be prompt to derive the maximum benefits from the vehicles.
The commissioner also highlighted some achievements recorded by the government in the last year, including beautification of the state capital, completion of a multimillion-naira ultramodern state secretariat, road construction, construction and renovation of classrooms and upgrading of some health facilities, among others.