Reps okay establishment of  FMC  in Wase, Plateau State 

  Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The House of Representatives,  on Tuesday,  passed for second reading,  a bill for the establishment of a Federal Medical Center ( FMC) in Wase, Plateau State. 
The proposed legislation entitled a ‘Bill for an Act to Establish the Federal Medical Centre, Wase, Plateau State’, is sponsored by the deputy speaker,  Idris Wase.
Wase,  while leading debate on the general principles of the bill,  said the proposed FMC is necessary to bridge the gap in the health care delivery in the area.
According to him, there is currently no functional health care facility to cater for the health needs of the people of Wase and environs.
The deputy speaker argued that if a FMC is established in Wase,  it will help to  to reduce the burden on  Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) and other health facilities within the North Central and North-eastern part of the country as people  from  Bauchi, Gombe, Jos South Local Area and part of Taraba Sate can easily access services in the facility.
He said  “Wase Local Government Area of Plateau State, despite its strategic location in Plateau State, dense and growing population and apparently having significant health challenges has no tertiary health facility to provide qualitative health services for its people”.
“It is imperative to note that Wase as a geographic entity is located to connect the Southern and Northern Plateau zones and also connects to several neighbouring communities such as in several states including Bauchi, Nasarawa, Gombe and Taraba States”.
“Wase is also a rich economic zone harboring rich deposits of mineral resources and of recent, Federal Government oil exploration activities which has been attracting both local and international investors to the Constituency. It is therefore, only logical that a place of such strategic economic, cultural and geographic significance should have a Health Facility that can cater to the needs of its growing population.”
Similarly,  the House on Tuesday,  also passed for second reading,  a bill  seeking to amend the the Orthopaedic Hospitals Management Board Act, in order  to create  an Orthopaedic Hospital in Jos, Plateau State.
Wase,  who is also the sponsor, in his lead debate,  said it is  imperative that an additional orthopedic hospital be established, so as to ease the burden on the three existing  Orthopaedic Hospitals, as well  as cater for the needs of the North Central zone, which currently  does not have a single orthopaedic centre.