Department of Stores and Supplies: Of Professor Ahidjo’s Foresight and Focus Management in UMTH

Department of Stores and Supplies: Of Professor Ahidjo’s Foresight and Focus Management in UMTH

By: Balami Lazarus

The University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, UMTH has been under media focus for sometimes in view of the changes taken place in the hospital. NEWSng has been following these laudable developments under the able leadership of Professor Ahmed Ahidjo the CMD. At this point NEWSng is looking at the  gigantic storage facility of the hospital known as store(s).  Stores has many names depending on the purpose of use : silos , gunneries and ware-houses can not be ruled out as alternative of stores. These are places of keeping food items or materials for future use. Indeed, NEWSng was impressed with what the team led by Professor Ahidjo was able to put on ground. 

During a recent tour at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, UMTH. NEWSng learnt that the 17 Central Stores that houses hospital equipment, medicine for the hospital and other technical equipment all for current and future use of the hospital was a deliberate move by the Chief Medical Director, Professor Ahmed Ahidjo in keying with the time, value chain and market in the management of a large hospital like UMTH, which currently has about 1200 bed capacity. 

According to the former head of stores, Malam Abubakar Abba, the store in the hospital are categorise into two namely allocated and Unallocated store. He explained that the allocated are stores specifically belonging to a department, while the Unallocated are stores for the general use of the hospital. He said the idea of storage looking at the numerous projects being executed in the hospital was in a move to ensure that all the materials and equipment needed for the centres are on ground before they are completed.

“Professor Ahmed Ahidjo is a man with foresight. He never begins any project in the hospital without first having all the required equipment on ground. He is always conscious of the trending in market, values of goods and services. He is also mindful of the continuous changes in foreign exchange. As such, I would rather say that he was indeed looking at the ants and drawing from their wisdom in storing for the rainy days.” He said.

Indeed, buying some of the equipment in store at the UMTH central Stores currently can only be a dream looking at the current exchange rate and price. With many medical centres under construction, it only takes wisdom to ensure that equipment meant for these centre are readily on ground before it’s completions. Such steps taken by Professor Ahidjo and his team and with the support of the board, individuals and government of Borno state is an indication that the CMD is a born manager and a resourceful personality, whose focus in the management of healthcare system is paying well.

Speaking on the Health-in-a-box-project of the hospital, Professor Ahmed Ahidjo said “We recently computerized the whole of the store with Hospital Information System under the Health-in -a-Box project in the hospital. Prof. Kagu is the Chairman of the project. Any item that comes into the store must be entered into the electronic data base and similarly the distribution to user departments and unit.

“A large Central Store where medical and technical materials are properly stored will surprise many people to hear of hospital having technical sections in a stored department. The Central Store of UMTH is a department standing on it’s own under a Head of Department who is responsible for running the affairs of the Central Store.” Professor Ahidjo told NEWSng while speaking on the stores during the inspection of one of the centres at UMTH.

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NEWSng also learnt ahead of the tour that the department has 17 different sections storing different good’s and materials. Some are medical item’s and stationeries while others are technical goods. “We have 17 stores in compartments, storing and carrying different kind of medical and technical goods. Some of our medical item’s are highly sensitive that needs certain temperature that is why some sections are air-conditioned and refrigerators for the storage of medicines”.

It took the team a whole day to go round the department to see the wisdom in Professor Ahmed Ahidjo’s managerial foresight. The UMTH Central Store is the live-wire and source of all medical needs for immediate use and the future. It is estimated that the central store holds billions of naira worth of medical drugs and technical items. On a rough sketch, one needs not to be told as the eyes always feels what it saw. It is indeed good to see in other to have the feelings and to be able to gauge a team. This is why the pass mark on Ahidjo’s achievements is speaking volume in media domain.

Department of Stores and Supplies: Of Professor Ahidjo’s Foresight and Focus Management in UMTH