By Isaac Olamikan
Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has said the newly upgraded state-owned College of Nursing Sciences will develop the human capacity to sustain ongoing reforms in the healthcare system and improve access to quality and affordable healthcare services to Edo people.
The Edo State College of Nursing Sciences, which was recently reaccredited to offer 3-year nursing programmes by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN), used to be the Edo State School of Nursing and Midwifery. The College, hitherto, was an eyesore before the governor took office, deploying resources to ensure the upgrade of the institution.
The revamp process has seen to the rebuilding of the school and its restructuring into a world-class college with state-of-the-art facilities specializing in nursing sciences. New lecture halls have been erected; offices have been remodeled; laboratories have been fitted with topnotch equipment and a new management structure has taken foot.
Obaseki, who spoke to journalists in Benin City, reassured that his administration will sustain investment in the state’s healthcare system, ensuring the delivery of affordable, quality and efficient health services to the people, The Trumpet gathered.
According to him, “The lessons of COVID-19 taught us that if one is ill, the person has no control of where to get healthcare from. COVID-19 has taught us a lot and motivated us to decide as a state to re-establish our healthcare system and make Edo State a medical hub.
“What you are witnessing today is part of a well-articulated plan to develop the human capacity of those that support the healthcare system. The new design of our healthcare system emphasizes the primary healthcare system so that you can have healthcare services not more than five kilometers from where you live. This fits into specialist care as you can’t go to a specialist hospital without being referred there.”
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He added, “At the other end of the Edo College of Nursing Complex, we are rebuilding the Stella Obasanjo Hospital, creating a whole medical city where private hospitals will come and take space and build specializations. We have 24/7 electricity here.”
On her part, Provost of the Edo College of Nursing and Sciences, Prof. Pat Okaigwe hailed the governor for prioritizing the health sector.
She noted, “Since we resumed this school in October 2021, a lot has happened. We have fully resumed classes and admitted our second set of midwifery candidates.
“We have opened our computer lab and have our own CBT center. We are collaborating with universities in America for faculty development; all these were achieved in the last three months that the College was opened. We have more to come.”
