The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire has commended the Medical Director of the Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Dr. Oluwayemi Cecilia Ogun for the transformation being undertaken at the Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital as well as promised his support for the hospital.
Dr. Ehanire gave this commendation over the weekend when he visited the Hospital, Yaba where met with top management of the hospital.
“I must commend the Medical Director, you can’t quantify the service that is given. And all of you who are giving service, and am particularly pleased to say that what I have seen in your adaptation and response to COVID-19 has been exemplary. You are all compliant. Everybody is wearing a mask. Everybody is sitting here in the prescribed format and I heard the Medical Director frequently telling people about distancing, and this is exactly what we are talking about. So you’ve done a good job in that respect and I hope that you are keeping it up, even among your patients.”
“I see also the energy you have spent in trying to fix things around here; and to show me your dreams of how you want to create more than you met when you came in, which is a very good ambition.”
Speaking further, the Minister who acknowledged the challenges facing neuro-psychiatric hospital, however expressed satisfaction with the way the Medical Director is managing the hospital’s affairs, including innovation.
“It is true that we are having more and more neuro-psychiatric problems here, and I was pleasantly amused when I heard the Medial Director telling us about the people who came from world war one. Not many of us will remember that at that time people came home with Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome which at that time was not taken seriously; So as for this place and its reputation, everywhere you go in the world now, you will see hospitals that are very well reputed, and you will see that even the space they have is not up to half of this.” The honourable Minister said.
“It is well known; So it has recognition. And my recommendation is that you build up this place. Build upwards and make the best use of the land. We shall support that effort; we are advising many organisations to do that.”
The Minister also charged the director to invest in mental health, draw up a road map and strategy to move the hospital to greater height.
He said: “So the work you do will continue to increase and we have to invest in mental health as much as we can. But we need all the concept from you. So am telling you Medical Director, to draw up a concept note;draw up a Strategic Development Plan for this Hospital, where you want to go, what you want to do, and it’s when everybody sees you have a definite plan that is strategic , and goes beyond ‘build one here, build one here.’
