Health: We’ve boosted our clinical services with 22 new doctors – Gombe Commissioner
By Auwal Ilyasu
The Gombe Commissioner of Health, Dr. Habu Dahiru, has stated that the state government has eliminated the era of no medical personnel within the State Specialist Hospital.
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According to the Commissioner, no fewer than 22 doctors have been harvested from the state university and are set to benefit from the houseman-ship program of the government.
Dr. Dahiru disclosed this while presenting blocks of flats built by the government for the first set of beneficiaries.
He explained that the program is an aftermath of Nigeria Medical and Dental Council approval for the training of house officers at the State Specialist Hospital.
Dahiru noted that aside from the 22 house officers, 30 other doctors were inherited from the National Youth Service Corps but were post across cottage hospitals in the 11 local government areas of the state.
He said, “We were able to do attestation for 28 doctors, 22 are indigenous from Gombe State and they are nowhere they have reported to the Specialist Hospital to do their internship. It will impact positively.
Each department will have a minimum of 5 additional doctors and that will be working 24/7. The era of when you come into the ward and they say there is no doctor is gone”.
The Commissioner assured that the trainees would not be neglected to function without adequate supervision, stressing that they are to be tutored by consultants while working.
“This is just the beginning we have started harvesting. Every year we are going to harvest a minimum of 25 doctors.
As a matter of fact, they are already on our payroll while they were in school. At the moment, there are some shortages in some hospitals due to retirement or attrition to other places as we train others some will come and others may go.
While bemoaning the challenges of losing trainees to Federal Teaching Hospital and the quest for greener pastures, he revealed that each house would have the opportunity to benefit from car loans and refresher courses.
He added, “The first is to upgrade them to the level, and immediately on their return we harmonize their package.
We have included car loans, training facilities, quite a few of them that go are still our staff they are going for specialty and sub specialty.
“On their residency programs and some of them are in Bauchi, Kano, Zaria. They come in between to continue because they are on sponsorship by the state government.
Health: We’ve boosted our clinical services with 22 new doctors – Gombe Commissioner
