LUTH PERFORMS FREE SURGERIES TO MARK 50TH ANNIVERSARY.

As part of activities to mark its 50th anniversary, the management of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi- Araba, would be offering free health services to the public.

The Chief Medical Director, LUTH, Prof Akin Oshibogun, who spoke at a press briefing organised by the hospital in Lagos, said the services to be provided would include free cleft lip-palate surgery, cancer surgeries, cataract, dental, optical and cardiovascular treatments for the less privileged from August.

Oshibogun added that for some comprehensive and expensive screening procedures, the hospital would offer a 50 per cent reduction in prices.

He said,”We are trying to play around the number 50 so all our services would revolve around that number. In all our sub-specialities, we would be offering free treatment for 50 persons.

“This is our way of giving back to the society in commemoration of 50 years of providing quality health services to the public.We will screen patients that come in and even though it would be on a first come, first serve basis, it will only be for those who ordinarily cannot afford them.”

Oshibogun also noted that apart from the free treatment, the hospital would be expanding the scope of services to include capsule endoscopy, total hip and knee replacement, small incision cataract surgery, laparoscopic surgery and open heart surgery.

He called on corporate organisations and the private investors to partner with the hospital to enable the hospitals to provide more advanced medical procedures which Nigerians were seeking in foreign hospitals.

According to him, it is impossible for government to be the sole-financier of public health institutions and the sole provider of quality health care for its citizenry.

He said, “There is no country in the world that offers free quality health care services to its people. Services were free in the olden days because there were fewer patients so it was easy for government to write off patients’ bills.

“More technology is needed now to deliver adequate health care. Government cannot do it alone and the private sector must come in, if we do not expand our services, more Nigerians would continue to travel abroad for treatments that we have the manpower to offer.”

Stating the achievements of the hospital, the CMD said LUTH pioneered the first In- Vitro Fertilisation in the country, championed research on salt iodisation and exposed the chloroquine resistance malaria parasite in Nigeria.

Oshibogun added that though the hospital has the facilities to provide renal transplantation for patients, many patients still die of renal failure due to lack of donors.

He said, “One of our recent exploits is renal transplantation but people still go abroad to do it because it is very hard to get a donor here in Nigeria. We are creating awareness on the need for kidney donation as a means to save lives. There is no factory where they manufacture kidneys; it is people that will donate them.”