FMC Owerri To Be Upgraded to Teaching Hospital–Senator

The Senate Committee on Health has announced the likely upgrade of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Owerri to a teaching hospital.

Chairman of the Committee, Senator Ibrahim Oloriegbe, disclosed this while on an inspection tour of the facilities at the centre, adding that the nation stands to benefit immeasurably if the centre is upgraded.

“I have raised the issue and plans are on top gear to upgrade the centre to a teaching hospital. The centre has the site and human resources available.

“The nation will be better off for it because of the quantum of road traffic accidents. It will attract human resources and save foreign exchange for the country.

“The centre has several ongoing projects, we will do little now but in the 2021 budget we will see how to support and see that most of these projects are completed in record time,” he said.

Oloriegbe mentioned that although the government cannot fund the project alone, the committee would be discussing the issue of partnership with the management, adding that the committee would see how some of the projects could come under public/ private partnership.

The Medical Director, Dr Kingsley Achigbu, said that despite the challenges at the centre, patients still get satisfactory services.