GOMBE – The Gombe State Government has said that it has completed the Snake Bite Treatment Centre in Kaltungo, Gombe State.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr Kennedy Ishaya, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Gombe that the 250-bed capacity centre cost N500 million.
Ishaya, who said the centre would be inaugurated soon, added that the Kidney Dialysis Centre had also been completed.
The commissioner said that the centre currently had four dialysis machines while the government had placed order for additional two.
He said the state government wanted to make it six with Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, HIV and Aids patients having one each, while the remaining were for other ailments.
“Arrangement has been concluded to send nurses to Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital to become dialysis managers,” he said.
He said the government had paid N1.1 billion out of the N2.3 billion for the construction of the College of Nursing and Midwifery, Dukku.
Ishaya added that the Women and Children Hospital, which was awarded two years ago at the cost of N2.6 billion, had been completed.
He said the construction was awarded at cost of N600 million while the equipment gulped two billion naira.
The commissioner said the government had also increased the amount spent on antenatal from N11 million quarterly to N25 million.
“As a result, pregnant women now patronise the hospital because they have access to free medical care.
“New causes have also been introduced in the School of Health Technology, Kaltungo. The new causes are in Nutrition/Dietetics, Pharmacy, Health Information Management, among others.
“At the moment, the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria is conducting refresher courses for nurses and midwifes in the state,” he said.
Ishaya stressed that some staff had been sent to the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON) in Badagary, Lagos, for various causes.
The commissioner said the government had earmarked six billion naira for the purchase of 5000 beds to replace old ones.
He said the government had also approved the construction of new Cottage Hospital in Tabra Village and Mile Three, all in Akko Local Government Area to reduce infant mortality rate. (NAN)