Reps Committee pledges support to upgrade FMC Bayelsa to a Teaching Hospital

The House of Representatives Committee on Federal Medical facilities has pledged to support the upgrade of the status of Federal Medical Centre (FMC) to a Teaching Hospital.

Hon Pascal Obi, who represents Ideato North and South at the House of Representatives made the pledge after inspecting projects at the FMC Yenagoa on its oversight functions on the 2020 fiscal year budget cycle.

Obi who led members of the House Committee of Federal Medical Institutions was responding to a request by the Chief Medical Director of FMC Yenagoa, Dr Dennis Alagoa who said that the institution had met the criteria of at least 500 bed capacity.

He noted that beyond meeting the minimum requirements the upgrade to a Teaching Hospital required the legislation by the National Assembly and urged the hospital management to liaise with National Assembly members from Bayelsa to sponsor a bill.

“The upgrade of the FMC Yenagoa to a teaching hospital requires legislative action apart from meeting the minimum requirements in terms of bed capacity. From the way you have deployed the limited resources appropriated, we have no option than to support you.

“The first step is to get National Assembly members from this constituency to sponsor a bill and after the first and second readings the bill will be referred to our committee and since we will be there till 2023, when the bill comes, we will do the needful,” Obi said.

The Reps Committee Chairman applauded the management of FMC for prudent use of resources in the development of capital projects in the hospital.

The Reps Committee held an interactive session to feel the pulse of Staff, labour unions and management of the hospital.

The Chief Medical Director recalled that the hospital grew from a 40 bed facility at inception in 1999 to 230 bed capacity in 2015,and to the current status of 530 beds under his watch.

Alagoa said that the hospital which had 39 Consultant Physicians in 2015 currently has 105 consultants to boost its Residency Training programme while its internally generated revenue shot up from N23 million to N48 million monthly.

He said that the hospital had achieved a 24 hour power supply as well as reduced its cost for electricity from N10 million monthly to N2 million.

Alagoa said that the hospital currently has five functional dialysis units adding that there has been no death from the hospital’s isolation centre where COVID-19 cases are being managed.