My administration will be patient-centred ― Otegbayo, new UCH CMD

University College Hospital’s new Chief Medical Director, Professor Jesse Otegbayo has assured that his administration will be patient centred and he will turn the hospital to a quaternary one that will reverse medical tourism.

Otegbayo who spoke at the send-forth party for UCH’s outgoing CMD, Professor Temitope Alonge and his welcome party as the hospital’s new CMD, said once patients get the services they want, public perception of the hospital will also improve.

According to him, in ensuring patients perception, a lot of in-house training will be organised for the hospitals’ staff to improve their attitude to patients and appropriate equipment that are relevant for a 21st-century teaching hospital provided.

Professor Otegbayo said in ensuring that UCH achieves a quaternary hospital status, where different research is conducted and highly specialised surgeries are done, the hospital needs the support of Nigerians and corporate organisations to acquire modern equipment to work.

He assured that his administration will also pay due attention and cognizance to their staff welfare and dialogue to ensure an industrial strike-free tenure.

Professor Otegbayo declared, “I know two major things that concern staff in terms of welfare is their promotion and their take home and I want to assure you that whatever lies within my power I will make sure that this is done.

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“Also in a matter of a few weeks, we will be having a staff retreat where I will make explicit mine vision. The brilliant ideas of the people that we contested together will also be distilled and form a point to implement and I believe that by the grace of God we will make things happen,” he said.

Outgoing CMD, Professor Temitope Alonge, said he would want his tenure to be remembered by the attention paid to details and commitment to services that had culminated to reducing the number of preventable deaths in the hospital.

Professor Alonge said infrastructures are just monuments and not legacy, adding, “any help you render to the vulnerable, the elderly and the children will attract great reward from God. Everything else is secondary; all of these had culminated to reducing the number of preventable deaths in UCH.”

He, however, urged the incoming administration to be bold enough to take the right decisions as the occasion and not get subsumed in emotions.

Vice Chancellor, University of Ibadan, Professor Idowu Olayinka said history will be kind to Professor Alonge who had distinguished himself and he urged that cooperation and support from UCH community extend to Professor Otegbayo to ensure he succeeds.

Earlier, Chairman, Nigerian Medical Association, Oyo State branch, Dr Akin Sodipo urged Professor Otegbayo to build on the successes of the past administration.

He urged him to also ensure a more conducive working environment to reduce brain drain of health workers from the hospital.