From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
The federal government has approved 50 percent subsidy for electricity tariff in public hospitals across the country.
This was announced by Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare Dr. Tunji Alausa while commissioning some projects  at the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital and National Eye Centre in Kaduna.
The Minister commissioned the Electronic Health Records and Alternative Power Supply at the Lawal Jafaru Isah Emergency Complex and the solarization project at the dialysis unit comprising a solar powered borehole backed by a 10.2 KVA inverter which comes with a lithium battery at Abdulkareem Jika Yusuf COVID-19 Intervention Centre at the psychiatric hospital.
According to him “we are going to change the name of  Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital to Specialist Hospitals to expand care delivery and destigmatize the hospital so that every body can come here, though the core services will still be Psychiatric, but then  changing the nomenclature give it the liberty to continuously expand the services.
Dr. Alausa who expressed confidence in the Chief Medical Director of the psychiatric hospital, Dr. Aishatu Yusha’u Armiyau said “the success in the Hospital is a testimony to what our President, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu promised Nigerians during his campaign”.
Also, at the National Eye Centre, Kaduna the Minister commissioned Dr. G.O Adejor Optical Show Room and Dr. M.B Alhassan Diagnostic and Laser Unit.
Earlier in her welcome speech,  the Acting Chief Medical Director of the Eye Centre, Dr. Aminatu Abdulrahman said the National Eye Centre was established in 1979 with a mandate to provide  specialist eye care services, training of manpower and research for Nigeria.
She said the hospital has 300 beds situated on 514 hectares of land which receives referrals from 36 states of Nigeria and Federal Capital Territory as well as  neighbouring countries
She said the Eye Centre which has a total of 650 staff; 369 (clinical) 281 (non-clinical) staff has about 53,406 out patients that have been attended to and 4653 surgeries were performed in 2023.
However, while fielding questions from newsmen shortly after the commissioning, the Minister said the warning strike by the Doctors was  complicating issues for the release of the kidnapped doctor from the Eye Centre, but assured that the abducted Doctor will be released soon.
On mass exodus of Medical staff to other nations of the world, he said there is a strategy on engaging medical personnel in the Diaspora.
He however, assured that despite the poor structure inherited, President Tinubu is engaging state governments to expand projects on Health Science Universities to sustain the rise  of health sciences enrollment from 24,000 annually to 100, 000.