The Federal Government has approved a 50% electricity subsidy for public hospitals across the country, Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Tunji Alausa, announced on Thursday.
Speaking at the National Neo-Psychiatric Hospital in Barnawa, Kaduna State, Alausa said the subsidy aims to reduce running costs for public hospitals and alleviate the impact on patients.
“We are committed to supporting our public hospitals, and this subsidy will go a long way in reducing their expenses,” Alausa said.
During the visit, Alausa commissioned the Electronic Health Records and Alternative Power Supply at the Lawal Jafaru Isah Emergency Complex and the solarisation project at the dialysis unit, including a solar-powered borehole and a 10.2 KVA inverter at the Abdulkareem Jika Yusuf COVID-19 Intervention Centre.
Alausa also announced plans to rename public hospitals as Specialist Hospitals to broaden healthcare service delivery. “We are going to change the names of our Federal Hospitals to Specialist Hospitals to expand care delivery and destigmatize hospitals so that everybody can come here. While the core services will remain psychiatric, this re-naming will allow for the continuous expansion of services,” he explained.
Regarding the ongoing strike by resident doctors, Alausa noted that it is complicating efforts to secure the release of kidnapped doctor Ganiyat Popoola. He appealed for calm and assured the hospital management that the abducted doctor would return soon.
