Tag: facelift

The crowd was excited. It comprised of expectant mothers, nursing mothers, their babies, employees of Oriyanrin Primary Healthcare Centre, Victoria Island and those of  Royal Philips. The crowd gathered to witness the unveiling of an extensive overhaul and refurbishment of the mother and child care facilities at the Healthcare Centre. Philips has upgraded the facilities in the labour, paediatric and new born baby wards, designing them to support the well-being and recovery of expectant mothers and their new born babies. It is anticipated that over time, as a result of this pioneering project, many lives will also be saved.

The Healthcare Centre, located in Iru/Victoria Island, Local Council Development Area, Lagos, has a very high patient in-flow with an average of 300-400 outpatients per month, as well as 30 to 40 follow up appointments per week. The Healthcare Center records an average of twenty (20) births per month. The labour, pediatric and new born units in the Healthcare Centre prior to the refurbishment were in need of an upgrade.

The Healthcare Centre is the largest among three primary healthcare centres in the district – Oniru Primary Health Centre and Takwa Bay Island Primary Health Centre being the other two; all of which have minimal manpower. Therefore the upgrading of the Healthcare Centre will benefit all three centres, and enable them to provide more efficient patient care.

The project, undertaken by Philips has resulted in a complete overhaul and renovation of existing mother and child care facilities. Philips began by painting and decorating the wards in order to create a serene and calming environment; Philips has also installed new toilets, tables, chairs, beds and cabinets.

All the light fittings have been retrofitted with the latest Philips LED lighting solutions; LED lighting enables rest and recovery, as it’s not as harsh as conventional fluorescent lighting, it requires minimal maintenance and also helps to reduce energy consumption. Earlier, due to frequent power outages as well as poor and sporadic lighting, doctors found it very challenging to deliver babies at night time, this problem is now eliminated. This new innovative solar LED lighting provides safe and uninterrupted illumination, while saving costs.

Philips has also invested in landscaping and beautifying the roundabout and streets surrounding the Healthcare Centre; all elements to provide a clean and attractive area, as well as easy access to the Healthcare Center.

To further improve the maternal health and child care facilities, Philips has also provided the Healthcare Center with a range of its innovative solutions, many of which have been developed specifically with African conditions in mind.

Noticing the lack of basic ultrasound in the labour ward, Philips has equipped the Healthcare Center with its innovative ultra-mobile ultrasound system called VISIQ; the size of a tablet, the VISIQ is the first ultra-mobile system from Philips. VISIQ’s unique combination of mobility, ease of use and image quality, will enable clinicians in the Healthcare Centre to carry out comprehensive obstetric and abdominal scans themselves rather than referring patients to larger ultrasound centers or hospitals. This enables fast diagnosis and treatment.

Approximately ten times smaller than a traditional ultrasound machine and with reduced energy consumption, VISIQ can be used for screening, triage and fetal well-being scans, all of which helps to address the critical issue of maternal and infant care in Nigeria.

In addition, Philips has also installed its Efficia patient monitor in the centre. Designed to be both portable and intuitive, and using time-tested physiological measurement algorithms the Efficia monitor will empower staff at the Healthcare Centre with actionable, care-specific information required to make patient management decisions and provide fast and efficient patient care.

Furthermore, to ensure proper usage of the technology, Philips is conducting an extensive training workshop at the Healthcare Center for midwives, maternity nurses, obstetricians and ultrasound practitioners; the objective is to provide hands-on application training, as well as a clinical refresher course on where to look and what to look for, and how to use this information to guide diagnoses and treatment decisions.

For new mothers and soon-to-be mothers in the Healthcare Center, Philips will be hosting demonstrations by experts on the importance of breast feeding and learning the correct techniques to enable comfort and ease for both infant and mother.

Breastfeeding is fundamental to reducing infant mortality. It can protect against common childhood infections such as neonatal sepsis. According to the WHO (World Health Organization), exclusive breastfeeding for a baby’s first six months and partial breastfeeding into a child’s second year, reduces a child’s chances of succumbing to several preventable illnesses including diarrhoea and acute respiratory tract infections.

Philips is setting up a maternity screening camp during the Nigerian phase of the Cape Town to Cairo roadshow. The screening camp at the Healthcare Center will give expectant mothers in the local community the opportunity to avail themselves of a free ultrasound screening. For the majority of the women in the area this will be their first time to have a scan during their pregnancy. A pre-natal screening ensures that any complications can be detected in advance of labour; if any of the women require further medical attention they will be taken care of immediately at the Healthcare Center.

Speaking at the inauguration of the refurbished facilities, Robin Armstrong, General Manager, Philips Healthcare, West Africa said: “It gives me great pleasure to unveil the renovation of the mother and child care facilitates at the Healthcare Center. This project will hopefully ease the burden for the healthcare workers in the district, and in time save many lives as well. Most expectant women visiting this facility can now have access to care which will help to keep both them and their babies healthy.”

Armstrong added: “Since the beginning of the Philips cape Town to Cairo road show we have continually sought to champion the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), related to reducing child mortality and improving maternal health. Our commitment to Mother and Child Care in Africa is unwavering – as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) supersede the MDGs our focus will remain the same, and we will continue to advance healthcare in Africa, providing solutions, innovations and collaborations that bring meaningful change.”

The Secretary, Abayomi Daramola, said the health centre appreciated the effort of the company, “being its Corporate Social responsibility (CSR) that tends towards reducing infant and child mortality, improving the health of mothers before and after babies are born, reducing numbers of deaths of mothers, prevention of common diseases, early detection and treatment of other diseases of public health significance.”

Dr Wale Akeredolu, Medical Officer Health, Public Health and Primary Health Centre Department, Iru /Victoria Island LCDA commented on the refurbishment: “The impact this project will have on our district cannot be overstated. Community Healthcare Centers are generally under resourced and sparsely equipped with technology. Our Healthcare Center is no different in this regard, and in particular our mother and child care facilities have been under enormous pressure in recent years. We are delighted to have collaborated with Philips, as this project will breathe new life into our Healthcare Center and enable us to improve care for our patients,” he said.

In line with the directive by the Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) to all Council Managers to focus attention on constructing better roads in the rural communities,  establishing healthcare facilities,  ensuring environmental sanitation and primary education in their respective councils, the Council Manager, Oshodi-Isolo Local  Government Area, Mr Kolawole Hundeyin, has successfully constructed three roads within 45 days when he assumed office.

Aside roads construction, the council manager is building a garbage disposal centre within the council premises to forestall outbreak of communicable diseases which could arise from indiscriminate dumping of waste.

Hundeyin has also procured 150 chairs and 50 computer tables for the United Nation Development Programme (UNDP) Vocational Skill Acquisition Centre at the council premises.

According to him, the major problem of Oshodi-Isolo Local Government Area is bad roads. “Most of them (roads) are not in good condition. Because of this, I have to focus more attention on rehabilitating the roads. I have worked on three roads now and hope to start another next week,” he said.

The roads rehabilitated included Abolaji Street, Alimi-Oke Street and Aluprom Avenue.

Hundeyin pledged to construct two roads in each of the seven wards in the council. He also urged residents to be law-abiding.

“Most of them are not in good condition. From the statistics available to me, we  have four federal roads, 19 state roads and 288 local roads. Since the major problem of this local government is roads, I have to focus more on them,” he said.

Mojisola Ayibiowu and Mrs Omolayo Lawal, who are traders on Alimi-Oke Street, praised the Council Manager for constructing the roads.

According to them, they now have easy access  to their homes unlike before when the roads were impassable, even as they noted that the smoothness of the roads has improved their businesses.

Mrs Lawal pleaded with Hundeyin to erect bumps on the roads for the safety of children in the area.

“Sometimes, the drivers just zoom past as if they are on the expressway,” she said.

Mrs Oluwafemi Adeleke, a resident of Aluprom Avenue said: “The road was bad so much so that one could break one’s legs while walking on the road.  We want them to help us to reconstruct other adjoining roads such as Olaiya Street,” she said.

Steven,  a tailor who resides on Abolaji Street thanked the council chief for coming to their aid.

“The street was constructed about four years ago but the link was not constructed. The road got spoilt due to the condition of the road. I believe the construction work would ease traffic congestion on other roads in this area because this road is a link to the airport and Mafoluku. The construction would engender business expansion and patronage. I feel very happy,” he said.

Mr  Shina Adewusi, Secretary, Abolaji Council Development Committee (CDC), Mafoluku branch, warned residents not to dump garbage on the roads or inside the drainage.

This, he said, would ensure longevity of the road.

“This road has been under serious damage for over three years. In order to make the road durable, we will ensure vehicles are not parked on the roads ,” he said.

Former Chairman, Oshodi-Isolo Local Government, Mr Samual Aina thanked Hundeyin for a job well done.

“I am one of the happiest persons today. For some time, we have been very unhappy about the situation of roads in  our area. But since he assumed office as  the Council Manager, I have had every cause to thank God that he took over effectively,” Aina stated.

The  Special Assistant to the Governor on Religious Duties (Christianity) who is also a resident of Oshodi community, Rev Sam Ogedengbe said: “Since the inception of the Council Manager as head of the council, there has been a lot of developments. We really appreciate him for the wonderful job he is doing. We urge members of the community to protect the road.”

Mr Maruf Adesanya, Head of Department, Education and Library Services at the UNDP Centre said the centre has bridged unemployment gap in the area.

“Those who have completed their secondary school education and are yet to get admission come here for a six-month programme on Home Management, Catering and Hotel Management, Computer Studies, fashion designing, Hair Dressing and Bead making instead of staying at home. After graduation, they were given tools to help them be self-employed.

“250 students are graduating on a yearly basis. Currently, we have 200 students. They go on industrial attach-ment most of the time in Eko Hotel after which they are employed,” Adesanya said.