Establishment of Faculty of Medicine in CUSTECH: NUC Verification Team Visits RHO, Expresses Satisfaction With Facilities On Ground

By Abigail Ayindero-Oyenibi, Okene

In furtherance of its desire to introduce medical Programmes at the Confluence University of Science and Technology CUSTECH Osara, the National Universities Commission (NUC) has paid a resource verification visit to the Reference Hospital Okene.

The 9-man team, made up of professors from various institutions across the country, were led on a facility tour of the hospital by the Chief Medical Director, Prof Solomon Avidime.

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Speaking after the inspection, Prof Avidime expressed delight at the visit by the NUC accreditation team, stating that it was a step towards achieving one of the mandate for the establishment of the hospital which is teaching and research.

He noted that the intention of CUSTECH to introduce programs in Anatomy and Physiology as well as Nursing and Laboratory Sciences was commendable as it was a way of increasing the number of medical personnel in Nigeria.

The CMD, who declared the readiness of the hospital to collaborate with the University, said every other thing that needed to be put in place will be sorted out.

Prof Avidime expressed optimism that the state government will do the needful to ensure the success of the accreditation process for the College of Medicine to take off as a way of providing the needed support in training.

A member of the NUC team and a Physiologist from the University of Ibadan, Professor Samuel Babafemi Olaleye, said the resource verification team were at the hospital with regards to the proposed medical program of the Confluence University of Science and Technology, Osara.

Prof Olaleye described the facilities inspected as impressive and an indication that the hospital was ready to train medical students.

On his part, Professor of Physiology from the Bayero University, Kano, Isiyaku Umar Yarabi, said they were satisfied with all they had seen, especially the Hyperbaric oxygen chamber, the first in the country, that is required for the treatment of critically ill patients.

Prof. Yarabi also urged the management of the hospital to work towards becoming a center of excellence with a view to reducing medical tourism, adding that the team will still visit the university campus to ensure that they have met NUC requirements.

Earlier, the Vice Chancellor of the Confluence University of Science and Technology, Osara, Prof Abdulrahman Salawu, represented by the Director, Academic Planning, Pharmacist Mohammed Audu, said the NUC accreditation team was on a visit to the hospital on resource verification in pursuance of the university’s plan to introduce medical Programmes.