By Francis Sadhere
Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State has reiterated his administration’s resolve to improve health infrastructures in the state, saying that health infrastructural development is a major component of his administration.
The Governor reiterated this while commissioning the ultra modern complex Annex of Lily Hospital, Warri, Delta State.
The Governor who was represented by his Deputy, Barrister Kingsley Otuaro said that the state government was ready to partner with the private sector to improve health delivery, adding that government is doing all it can to ensure that the people have access to good healthcare.
Governor Okowa commended the management of Lily Hospital for providing world class facilities that can compete with other facilities in the world, appealing to the staff to use the facilities maximally to the benefit of the people.
He said, “My administration will continue to partner with the private sector to ensure that our people get good healthcare delivery. We all have to do what we can to help government because government cannot do it alone. No sacrifice is too much for us to make to for our state.”
Okowa said that his administration has continued to provide hospital equipment to all the public hospitals in the state, adding that government is currently training medical doctors at Oghara Teaching Hospital, Ethiope West Local Government Areas of the state.
Also speaking at the occasion, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Professor Joseph Ana said the board will continue to work to see that Deltans and all other Nigerians get to know both the cutting-edge and basic services that are now available in Lily Hospitals.
Prof. Anan added that the aim of Lily Hospital was to ensure that Nigerians were spared the rigor and costly adventure of taking their health problems to far away oversea countries.
The C.E.O. of Lily Hospital, Dr. Austin Okogun on his part, called on Governor Okowa to expedite the implementation of the National Health Act before health institutions and practitioners across the nation begin to default on certain legal requirement contained in the act.
Okogun however, commended Governor Okowa for getting the National health Bill passed when he was the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, adding that today Nigeria has a National Health Act due to the effort of Okowa.
Okogun called on the state government to collaborate and partner with Lily Hospital and other private hospitals in the state to make good quality healthcare services available to the wider generality of the population of the state.
