MRS AMBODE COMMISSIONS ICU, DONATES AUDITORY EQUIPMENT TO HOSPITALS

IKEJA, Lagos, Nigeria – Wife of the Governor of Lagos State, Bolanle Ambode, under the aegis of Committee of Wives of Lagos State Officials (COWLSO), on today further restated her commitment to maternal care in the State, by commissioning the upgraded Intensive Care Unit (ICU), of the Lagos Island Maternity Hospital as well as putting in place a neo-natal hearing screening equipment.

Also benefitting from the first lady’s gesture were four General Hospitals: Gbagada, Ifako-Ijaiye, Ikorodu and Badagry- which all received auditory equipments.

Speaking at the event, Mrs. Ambode said the focus of COWLSO’s health intervention this year, majorly, was the ICU of the Island Maternity Hospital. She stated that as the drive to combat maternal mortality rate in the State continued to record tangible progress, there was need to tackle unbooked ante-natal cases, which had become a major challenge in baby deliveries.

“A good number of such cases come in extreme conditions, which without the existence of a well-equipped Intensive Care Unit, death seems inevitable for the mother, baby or both. Now and then, we hear of many pregnant women and their babies dying of conditions such as pregnancy-induced hypertension, convulsion or shock arising from post-delivery bleeding.

“A high number of such bad cases are referred from Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs), and faith-based homes. After effective deliveries, subsequent proper care requiring intensive care is always lacking,” she said.

She added that until government’s advocacy of regular attendance of antenatal care services is heeded by expectant mothers, and until there is early referral from TBAs, faith-based organisations and Primary Health Care Centres, an ICU will always be needed to save more lives.

Mrs. Ambode said it was as a result of increased number and complexity of emergency cases that prompted COWLSO’s intervention in upgrading and strengthening the existing High Dependency Unit, to an ultramodern Intensive Care Unit.

Speaking further still, on other areas of intervention by COWLSO, she stressed that prevention of hearing impairment had become paramount. In this wise, four OTOREAD OAE audiological instruments, capable of detecting hearing loss in children, had been procured; while 12 relevant workers had equally been trained to handle the equipment.

In his remarks, the State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, said since the inception of governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s administration, the choice of Lagos Island Maternity Hospital as a beneficiary for targeted interventions by COWLSO had been very apt, given the health facility’s current position as the apex referral public facility for obstetric cases.

He thanked the first lady, the chairman and members of COWLSO for what he described as a noble and selfless gesture. He emphasized that the government of the day maintained zero tolerance for maternal mortality. As such, he said, “our women should not die needlessly in the course of giving life.”

“The hospital records 350 to 400 deliveries monthly, a significant proportion, as high as 90 percent of which are unbooked emergencies. Even among this high-risk group, maternal mortality should be reduced by our continued multi-pronged approach,” Idris said.

In his goodwill remarks, Chairman, Committee on Health Services of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Olusegun Olulade, said he was honoured and impressed with COWLSO. He said they had taken a new dimension in terms of service delivery to residents of Lagos. He added that it was of note that COWLSO had been complementing the efforts of the State government in catering for the welfare of citizens.