Plateau govt reacts to PREMIUM TIMES report on non-functional trauma centre

The Plateau State Government has cleared the air on the uncompleted but commissioned Riyom General Hospital and Trauma Centre in the Riyom Local Government Area of the State.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that the facility was abandoned after it was commissioned by former Governor Simon Lalong in May 2023.

Following the report on Saturday, the state Commissioner of Health, Cletus Shurkuk, led local and state officials to inspect the facility.

He said said efforts are on to ensure the Centre becomes functional.

Mr Lalong commissioned the uncompleted facility shortly before he left office in 2023.

However, the incumbent Governor Caleb Mutfwang ensured the General Hospital started operation while the Trauma Centre, which ought to serve accident victims on the very busy and accident-prone Riyom-Gidan Waya-Abuja highway, is left untouched.

Mr Shurkuk said Governor Mutfwang is committed to seeing all healthcare facilities in the state working and delivering quality healthcare service to citizens.

The commissioner spoke after he led key stakeholders in the state’s health sector, as well as the Riyom Local Government to the facility, he said Governor Mutfwang had ordered that all healthcare facilities in the state must function.

“The governor has given an order that all healthcare facilities in the state must function. So, the governor is not silent, we are looking at the issue of a Trauma Centre.

“You have seen the place, it has been commissioned but it was not completed, so we’re finding out where the problem is so that we can fix it. We have already started the activities, but it’s not just enough to start, and that’s why we’re here to monitor to ensure that they are doing what they are supposed to do.

“Before we came on board, there was no activity going on in the hospital, but we mobilised staff to come and start work so that the people in the neighbourhood could benefit from some of the services. And as you can see, the operation has started, but it’s not at the level that we want it, and this is because they have some other challenges, and that’s why we’re here with some of the stakeholders in the facility and the local government to discuss on some of the challenges.

“The major challenge is the issue of getting the hospital connected to the national grid, and also the issue of accommodation, water, and encroachment into the hospital by the community claiming that they have not been paid compensation.

“So we have already discussed that with the chairman of the local government, and very soon, you will see the progress that we are making on the issue.

“The people are coming in here to cultivate the land and that is not good. 80 per cent of the compensation has been paid, and the 20 per cent remaining is to be completed by the local government area.

“There is a borehole that is not in use because of the lack of a power source; the resources to power the generator that is here will be too exorbitant to sustain. We are also looking at getting temporary accommodation for doctors so they don’t need to come from Jos in case of emergency.”

He added that the state government was working out the issues with the contractor who was to make available the accommodation for the staffers.

In his remarks, the Chairman of the Local Government, Sati Shuwa, informed the people of the efforts the council was making to support the full functioning of the facility.

He blamed repeated vandalism by unpatriotic citizens for the inability to connect the Riyom and Ganawuri districts of the local government area to the national grid and expressed optimism that the challenges will soon be overcome.

The Chief Medical Director of the Hospital Management Board, Benjamin Garkuwa, represented by the Director of Medical Services, Fatima Gyaran, urged stakeholders to ensure the facility serves its purpose in the state.