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How the Department of Engineering Services is supporting Ahidjo’s vision to achieve growth leading to success in UMTH

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How the Department of Engineering Services is supporting Ahidjo’s vision to achieve growth leading to success in UMTH

By: Balami Lazarus

With huge buildings and other engineering services ongoing at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), little is known to persons outside the hospital that a large Department of Engineering Services manned by certified professional engineers working with Professor Ahmed Ahidjo’s management team has been part of the success story of the largest hospital in Nigeria.

This department is responsible for the day-to-day engineering activities of 

the hospital; physical development, building, civil, and general maintenance of the hospital. This collaborative move and sharing of responsibility between the management team and the department of engineering services has saved UMTH a lot of money, thereby keeping all services ongoing at the pace of plans being executed by the management, bringing about changes on a daily basis that are not only the pride of Borno State, the northeast, but Nigeria as a whole.

Prof. Ahmed Ahidjo

Most people tend to limit engineering work and services to building and civil projects that are located in these areas. However, NEWSng recently took a tour of the engineering department to assess its input in the dramatic changes taking place in the hospital beyond the surface of the building where this department is standing. During the tour, it was discovered that beyond works, the department of engineering at the UMTH stood tall in the idea generation for the beautiful architectural output visible to visitors, who continuously admire the efforts being put in by the Professor Ahidjo management team to give the hospital the desired outcome for better services in the technicality of managing such a big health institution in Nigeria.

Working beyond work services, the engineering services of UMTH focus on re-engineering the staff capacity to dream big in fashioning its activities through services and maintenance. This makes it one of the essential services departments in the non-clinical section of the hospital, playing the role of physical and health engineering in this hospital system. While digging further to know more about the department, NEWSng learned more about health engineering services and why they are necessary in hospital settings such as those seen in the UMTH. 

While earlier considering the management of sanitary and evacuation of waste in the hospital, the visits opened a chapter on understanding what engineering services also stand for in it’s concerns with sanitary and evacuation of liquid and solid waste in the hospital to make for a healthy atmosphere and environment of the hospital, which is carried out by the Department of Engineering Services as part of their responsibilities.

Engineer Modu Ali Gana, who heads the Engineering Department, revealed during a chat with NEWSng that his department not only ends their work on building and engineering projects. According to him, “We are also into maintenance and services, which is why we are the Department of Engineering Services. We are also into the technical matters of the hospital because we have personnel who are qualified and experienced for such work. And here we speak engineering and technical language.”.

Engineer Modu added that both engineering and technical work are capital projects and are properly handled by professional and experienced men in the department.

NEWSng also understands that there is no doubt about what Engr. Gana said regarding the role of the department in adding value to the hospital considering the various projects undertaken by the department of engineering services in terms of road construction, supervision, and maintenance of capital projects, including the total evacuation of liquid and solid waste. 

“Hospitals of this size have several minor sewages that flow daily into the central swage of liquid waste. This is a daily affair. If my department is not involved in the evacuation of this waste and the draining of the sewage, you and I cannot stay here and discuss comfortably. In fact, the hospital should have become a pigsty.”. He explained. “Hospitals are known to be one of the cleanest structures in the health care sector, and UMTH can boast of being one of the cleanest hospitals in Nigeria.” He said

During the visit, NEWSng came across some large incinerators where solid waste is disposed of. This was further explained by the head of the engineering department, Engr. Modu Gana, who said, “Disposal and evacuation of waste are not limited to the vicinity of the hospital, but staff residents, medical students, and school of nursing hostels and offices are not left out. You can see that we are everywhere and need to create a pleasant environment, and we are doing our best to create a healthy environment both for our patients, staff, and visitors to the hospital.”

Another area of interest for the department is the road. There is a good, accessible road network within this renowned hospital, which was constructed by the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing Abuja (FMW&H) and maintained by the department of engineering services. It takes serious lobbying by the management team to have these road networks in place. Also, NEWSng learned that some of the newly constructed roads, about 1.6 km, were named after personalities like Mohammad Bukar, Jibril Aminu, Babatunde Raji Fashola, and Babangida Husseini for their various contributions and support to the UMTH. 

Considering the growth, progress, and successes achieved through the department of engineering services, one can clearly see the pulses in Professor Ahmed Ahidjo’s vision. Indeed, this is why Engr. Modu Gana said with affirmation that. “Our achievements are numerous. We supervised all the completed projects in the hospital, including the Cancer Center, the Radiology Intervention Project, and the Child Institute Center, among others. There are some ongoing projects that my department is supervising at present. We are the lifewire of structural, mechanical, electrical, and electronics, civil engineering structures, and technical services.”

While growth leads to success, the challenges faced by this department are equally the major challenge of the hospital: the issue of power. The need for power is essential in order to maintain facilities, machines, and tools that aid in the running of the department of engineering services and the entire hospital. Therefore, there are urgent calls on the government and spirited individuals to support the hospital and overcome the challenge of power supply to the hospital.

How the Department of Engineering Services is supporting Ahidjo’s vision to achieve growth leading to success in UMTH

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We have the best Opthalmology department in the North East of Nigeria – Prof. Tahir

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We have the best Opthalmology department in the North East of NigeriaProf. Tahir

By: Bodunrin Kayode

Medical Director of the ultra modern Police Hospital Damaturu Prof Bashir Tahir has said that his facility has one of the best Ophthalmology departments in North East Nigeria.

He made this declaration while speaking with this reporter in Damaturu recently.

Professor Tahir stated that having met the facility in a near comatose state, he and his team have been able to create a department of Opthalmology plus six others and set it on a very high standard ready to serve the people in the catchment area.

Tahir who spoke through his Director of Administration Mallam Hamza Saleh stated that “Our Opthalmology dept is one of the best in the North East of Nigeria and you can get a recommended glasses within an hour because of the state of arts machines in that very department in the hospital.”

Speaking on the current expansion going on in the facility the MD stated that “We have ENT and consultants coming from the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital UMTH alternatively during the week to do routine consultations, ward rounds and even operations in the theatre.

“We recently spent about N10m to buy equipments in the ENT and we do hope that all the equipments will be available before the end of the year.

On the revitalization of the facility, he went on: “We actually met the three theatres in bad shape but we have been able to put them into functional use by restructuring them accordingly. For now all three are functioning including the O and G theatre where routine operations have been conducted.

“When we came on board also the hospital was not departmentalized. So we did that and opened the way for more doctors to come by creating these seven departments for them to work in an organized way.

“All the departments are functional with seven consultants who man these departments to the satisfaction of all the patients who visit the facility.

This new facility can also boast of two Eye Nose and Throat surgeons and others as the support staff to support the facility.

“We have about 100 nurses with one that is a police officer. We also have some of them with specialized techniques and that has contributed to the progress of the place.

On medical lab scientists, the MD posited that they now have six lab scientists in different areas, two pharmacists and a couple of technicians that assist them on the ground on a daily basis.

They have a solid Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement with a pharmacy company in the supply of drugs which is used to stabilize the availability of drugs in the hospital.

On supply of drugs, he noted that they make sure that people served well and patient are the priority of anything that happens in the facility adding that they now have satellite pharmacies in the facility to ensure quality time is not wasted.

The MD said that it was part of their plan to get most of the major equipments before any fresh employment of any professional commences so that all hands will be on deck to ensure the best.

We have the best Opthalmology department in the North East of NigeriaProf. Tahir

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UMTH: Interventional Radiology Centre, a High-tech Medical Solution.

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Interventional radiology centre at UMTH

UMTH: Interventional Radiology Centre, a High-tech Medical Solution.

By: Balami Lazarus 

After the devastating flood of September 2024, UMTH counted so many losses that ran into billions of naira. Little did the public expect too soon that another gigantic medical center that is not found in other hospitals in Nigeria, but only in Maiduguri, situated and being at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital-Borno State.

The IR Centre, or Interventional Radiology Centre, in the words of the Director of the Centre, Dr. Mohammed Lawan, is a hospital within a hospital, describing the massive building equipped with the latest medical equipment as a center for carrying out radiology services, for training, and for research purposes. 

The Chief Medical Director, Professor Ahmed Ahidjo, Midas touch has produced and added medical value to nourish the healthcare delivery services through the new Interventional Radiology Center (IRC). “This center is another medical solution to interventional radiology treatments…. We are proud to have this as a medical facility”.

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What is interventional radiology? According to Dr. Mohammed Lawan, who spoke to NEWSng. Interventional Radiology It is a medical specialty that performs various minimally invasive procedures and techniques to treat many medical conditions that once required open surgery. The use of medical imaging guidance through sophisticated and high-tech medical equipment like x-ray fluoroscopy, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, etc., are some major working medical gadgets to qualify interventional radiology. Therefore, the center is meant to offer specialized medical surgery/treatment and healthcare delivery services to patients at UMTH through interventional radiology surgery.

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In furtherance of NEWSng findings, a walk into the center opens up to so many clinics and equipment that draw attention. The center is an imposing building beautifully designed with offices equipped with furniture, medical equipment, and materials of high quality. Ultrasound, computed tomography, and other working tools are used to give it a full certification to be known, called, and addressed as the Interventional Radiology Center of standard offering international best practices.

Prof. Ahidjo told NEWSng that “we are the only ones that see the inside at all times when and where there are medical radiology cases. He further said that the center will also serve as a reference point for radiologists, consultants, doctors, and medical students. “The Interventional Radiology Center is meant to make a difference in providing quality healthcare services in medicine. IRC is my new baby”. e center has male and female wards with what it takes to have in a specialized sentence like IRC of UMTH. To make it easy for those with mobility challenges, the building is designed to ease their movement within the facility. The reception area and the patient’s waiting room, as well as the recovery room, are of worth according to standards obtainable in any medical center or hospital.

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When NEWng entered into the building, Dr. Mohammed Lawan was already attending to patients, and this afforded our special team to see things firsthand. This concludes that with the emergence of IRC, UMTH has finally revealed the true medical specialty of Prof. Ahmed Ahidjo to so many people out there who see him like any other professor of medicine. The CMD and/or hospital administrator. “Prof. Ahidjo is a surgeon consultant and interventional radiologist, one of the best brains in this particular field of medicine, within and without,” said one radiologist.

UMTH: Interventional Radiology Centre, a High-tech Medical Solution.

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Health

Why UMTH is Nigeria’s leading healthcare institution.

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Professor Ahmed Ahidjo

Why UMTH is Nigeria’s leading healthcare institution.

By: Dr. James Bwala

UMTH’s medical professionals and medical breakthroughs in Nigeria Medical institutions around the country should continue to prioritize infrastructure development. UMTH’s commitment to staff training and development was critical to its growth. The hospital invested heavily in ongoing professional development programs, ensuring that its medical staff were not only well-versed in the most recent information and skills used by the hospital, but also had the opportunity to show them. UMTH’s initiatives ensured that its healthcare professionals stayed at the cutting edge of medical advances and practices.

Professor Ahmed Ahidjo’s creative leadership has helped the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) become a renowned healthcare institution in Nigeria. Over the last 40 years, UMTH has experienced substantial modernization and expansion, transitioning from a single-building complex to a multi-institutional system. This expansion included the construction of important facilities such as a 150-bed trauma center and a 1,000-seat theater, which greatly improved the hospital’s ability to provide outstanding medical services. By deliberately extending its facilities, UMTH has established itself as a key healthcare provider not only in northeastern Nigeria but throughout Sub-Saharan Africa.

Furthermore, the hospital’s expansion reflects broader trends in Nigerian healthcare systems, which attempt to improve service delivery in the face of numerous problems. While many tertiary hospitals confront challenges such as insufficient medical equipment and staff training, UMTH’s proactive approach has enabled it to successfully manage these difficulties. As it continues to adapt and innovate in the healthcare industry, UMTH demonstrates how strategic planning may result in significant improvements in patient care.

Under Professor Ahmed Ahidjo’s guidance, UMTH developed its physical infrastructure while also investing in innovative medical technologies and thorough staff training programs to improve service delivery. This strategy not only increased the hospital’s operational efficiency, but it also drew a cadre of highly competent medical staff committed to sustaining high standards of care.

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These strategic developments, together with a dedication to excellence, have established UMTH as a leader in healthcare innovation and quality in the Northeast. Furthermore, the creation of specialist centers, including the 150-bed trauma center and renovated auxiliary facilities, has substantially improved UMTH’s ability to handle difficult medical cases, confirming its image as Nigeria’s preeminent healthcare institution. Furthermore, the hospital’s dedication to research and partnership with international medical institutes has created a culture of continual learning and innovation.

UMTH’s dedication to both patient care and academic quality has established a standard for other institutions in the region, maintaining its position as a healthcare leader. Under the innovative leadership of Professor Ahmed Ahidjo, UMTH has increased its facilities and services, most notably with the installation of a Child Institute, Cancer Centre, Burns Centre, a 150-bed trauma center, and a 1000-seat auditorium, amongst others, which have been important in improving its capacity to deliver.

Strategic connections with international institutions have not only fostered information exchange but also brought cutting-edge medical technology to the hospital’s doorstep. This technological breakthrough has not only increased diagnosis and treatment capacities but has also established UMTH as a top choice for medical education and research. Leveraging these improvements, UMTH has also prioritized healthcare professional training, ensuring that both current and new hires are skilled in using cutting-edge technology to offer excellent patient care.

The emphasis on continuing professional development has kept UMTH’s healthcare professionals at the forefront of medical developments, ensuring high levels of patient care and safety. Furthermore, the hospital’s concentration on research and development has resulted in ground-breaking studies that have greatly advanced medical knowledge, cementing its position as Nigeria’s preeminent healthcare facility.

This dedication to quality is also evident in the hospital’s patient satisfaction rates, which have regularly exceeded national averages, demonstrating the efficacy of its comprehensive approach to treatment. UMTH’s ability to provide great healthcare is enhanced by its strong infrastructure and an innovative culture that pervades all aspects of its operations.

Dr. James Bwala, PhD, writes from Abuja.

Why UMTH is Nigeria’s leading healthcare institution.

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