ENUGU – The Director of Nursing Services at the Uwani District Hospital, Enugu, Mrs Patricia Ejim has said that the turn-out of women and children in the health centre has been impressive.
Ejim told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu on Tuesday that the increased turn-out was due to the uplift of all the health centres in the state.
“There are surgical interventions in Uwani District Hospital and we have doctors who are gynaecologist to attend to some of the patients.
“We have more nurses sent to work in this hospital now. Before the cottage hospitals and the health centres were merged to be called a district hospital, you hardly see patients coming for treatment.
“Because we did not have enough space, beds and nurses for effective healthcare delivery, it made many women to seek medical attention elsewhere.
“We are happy now because a lot of women and children are trooping into this hospital. On antenatal days, we receive about 50 pregnant women as well as many children for immunisation,” she said.
Ejim said that medical services in all the state health centres were free for women and children.
In his comment, the Chief Medical Director of Poly Sub-District Hospital, Dr Sunday Chukwu, said there had been a large turn-out of women for antenatal, delivery and general medical attention since the government started giving free medical services.
He said that due to the free service, there had been a large turn-out of women and children on daily basis.
“This made the state government to begin the expansion of the sub-district hospital’s structures in order to accommodate as many patients as possible.
“Everything done here is free, mostly for women and children, once a woman gets pregnant, the state government starts taking care of her and the child till the day of delivery.
“Whether the delivery is normal or through caesarean section, it is free because the state government has made health service delivery free for every woman and child in Enugu State,” he said.
Chukwu said that the number of women who came for antenatal care monthly in 2012 was 617 as against 877 recorded in 2013 while the number of delivery also increased from 60 monthly in 2013 to 69 in 2014.
He said that the number of children who were immunised increased from 109 in 2012 to 242 every month in 2013. (NAN)
