1 Year in Office: CMD Plateau State Specialist Hospital Attributes Successes recorded at the hospital to Gov Mutfwang’s Commitment and the overwhelming Support of Staff

The Chief Medical Director of the Plateau State Specialist Hospital Prof Christopher Sabo Yilgwan has said that the successes recorded in the hospital within he last one year came as a result of the commitment of the Executive Governor of Plateau State Barrister Caleb Mutfwang in improving the health services provide for the citizens of Plateau State.

Prof Yilgwan also added that the unwavering and overwhelming support provided by the staff of the hospital has added in no small way in amplifying the successes recorded by the hospital. Prof Yilgwan made this known on Friday 2nd August, 2024 while addressing journalists briefly after a tour of the new and improved facilities of as part of activities to mark his One Year in office.

Earlier in his remark at his office, Prof Yilgwan highlighted some of the achievements of the hospital under his leadership, while stressing the critical role the Governor of Plateau State Barrister Caleb Mutfwang, management staff and unions of the hospital in the successes story.

“I appreciate the management team in Plateau State Specialist Hospital. There is no success in any organizational system that can be possible without a team. The degree to which one achieves is largely dependent on how much the team around the person collaborates, cooperates, and coordinates to achieve that. So, I would like to thank the management team, and I can see everyone is here. I also want to thank the staff and the unions.”

“Most times, when it comes to unionism, many people tend to see unions as antagonistic. But I can assure you that the unions in this hospital have, to a large extent, contributed to many of the things you’ve seen. Because if they had created a turbulent environment, we would have spent the whole year trying to solve problems. But they’ve been very, very cooperative and collaborative, joining hands with us to get here. I’m starting like this because it’s important to acknowledge the fact that one man doesn’t make progress. One tree can’t make a forest. I know the Chinese have this adage that if you want to go far, go in a group. So, all the things you’ve done and seen done, it’s because of the people in the team.”

“And most importantly, the staff in the hospital who have mentioned in other places that considering the resources at their disposal and the opportunities they have, I think they’ve done so much and so well to keep the hospital. Again, without them, we wouldn’t have gotten to where we are. One year ago, I actually came in here as an outsider, yes, I came in as an outsider, you know, someone who coincidentally had never worked, you know, with the state government and had never really worked in Plateau Hospital. “

“What I can confidently say is that though I came in as an outsider, right now it feels as if I’ve been here for many years because of the warm reception and the cooperation and collaboration I’ve gotten from everybody within. I don’t feel like an outsider. I don’t feel like someone who has not been here. The CMAC and the DA have been very wonderful. I met them here in the team, and they have helped me to navigate the waters of transition. They have stood by me and helped me to do all the things I’ve been able to do. The other management team who joined after i assumed leadership have actually followed suit in all the support.”

“So I met people who are ready to work, ready to cooperate, and ready to help us make progress. So in terms of the workforce, I think the enthusiasm to make progress was very high. We must state that beyond just enthusiasm, there were a lot of problems in terms of the number. I met on the ground a situation where even the staff who were recently recruited then didn’t know their fate. They weren’t sure whether they would be retained or not because they hadn’t even been paid for months. But by the grace of God, we were able to resolve that.”

“Eventually, salaries were paid even before the review was completed, and I think that’s helped to improve and boost morale from the workforce. I also met a situation on the ground where the environment for work wasn’t very conducive. When I took over and I was going around the hospital that day, many things went through my mind. I could see several years of neglect. I could see a hospital where the whole hospital was in darkness at night. I had to come back in the night just to see, and for the first few days I was here, I got information that even for people who had to work at night or on calls, just leaving your house was a difficult problem because the whole place was dark. With the team I had, we were able to set up a system that made us get some solar floodlights, which right now have helped to illuminate the whole environment”.

“We still have a few gray areas there, as money comes in, but to a large extent, 80% of what is needed, we were able to do that. In line with that, we were also able to put in some security cameras. One of the biggest problems that we’ve had, which we haven’t completely resolved in this hospital, is the incentives and all that. We felt that putting in some checks has helped us track a few things.”

“Again, part of the problem has to do with the fact that even the environment itself, the frontage of the hospital, was more like a market square than a hospital. With the economic crunch and all that, people would say anywhere you see, you can put up your table to fit. But I’ve traveled across the country and beyond, and I know what a hospital should be. A hospital should welcome you; you should have serenity when you get to the hospital. Part of the problems we had with security may even be related to the fact that you have a market in front of the hospital. We’ve been able to clear that and also to escape the front of the hospital.”

“The matter of clinical services was a big issue…One of the biggest problems we had then was the shortage of not just the younger doctors…Though a specialist hospital for years, only the family physicians have had to be burdened with holding thoughts to give all the specialist care in the hospital, and that had created a lot of problems that even impacted the training of even those family physicians.”

“We were able, with the permission of His Excellency and also the support of His Excellency, Barrister Caleb Manesseh, to employ more consultants. More than half of them have resumed already. We were able to get 22 new consultants into the system at the four major specialties: paediatrics, internal medicine, and surgery. Currently, what we’re actually discussing is to see how we can expand the residency training program, and we are hopeful that by the first quarter of next year, that will take off. The aim is to expand services, improve services, and also help our people to access care that is needed.”

“Though that may not completely solve the service delivery needs of the hospital, I believe it will go a long way. You can imagine, in a hospital with just 17 consultants, now having close to 40 consultants. That tells you how important Plateau State Specialist Hospital is to me, to His Excellency, and also in the scheme of things with regard to service delivery. “

“Currently, we’re also trying to address the other shortages in nursing. Our isolation center is under lock and key because of that, and thankfully, again, His Excellency has magnanimously approved for us to replace those nurses, and in no distant time, that will also be resolved. In terms of operations, the hospital operates paper-based, with a lot of problems, and as a forward-thinking management and a progressive-thinking generation, the hospital has concluded plans to migrate to an e-hospital system.”

“His Excellency, because of his understanding of how important data tracking is and technology in data acquisition, promptly approved and gave us money. Today, we have built a server and developed a platform that is context-specific. Unlike other operations outside, this platform is completely owned by Plateau State Specialist Hospital, which owns the locally installed server, meaning that we’re practically possibly the only one who can have complete control of our system and complete ownership of our system.”

“Right now, we’re training our coordinating staff and will do a phased implementation. We’re hoping that by the end of this year, the hospital will have completely migrated to an e-hospital system, and we know that will help with the operations and improve our healthcare. We know that recently, the dental services were grafted onto us, and we’re hoping that what is happening on this side of the hospital will also translate to the dental services”

“We’ve done a complete comprehensive evaluation of the needs there, and we know His Excellency will do the same for the dental services as he is doing here. There are so many other things, and I don’t want to boast, but one critical operation that I think we need to highlight is the radiodiagnosis center, which has been under lock and key. When I came in, the contractor wasn’t completely paid his money, but we made sure without prejudice to complete that, and today the radiodiagnosis center is operational. We have full services: CT scan, MRI, digital X-ray, ultrasound, and echo.”

“Lastly, we expanded our physiotherapy services. For more than three decades, the hospital has had only one physiotherapist. We’ve expanded; now we have about six people there and a brand new mini-complex that we’ve been able to set up for them, and we’re hopeful that that will improve functions and services.”

There were goodwill messages on behalf of management team of the hospital through the Chairman Medical Advisory Committee Dr Abel Izang, from the unions through the Branch Chairman of the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives Mr Darong Sylvester, who extoled the leadership qualities and style of Prof Christopher Sabo Yilgwan.

Those present the event from the management of the hospital are Dr Abel Izang (CMAC), Mr Jacob Dung Bot, Director of Administration, Mrs Jushina Mangset Director of Finance and Supply, Director Internal Audit Mrs Alice Defwan, HOD Nursing Mr Nanyil Ezra, HOD Pharmacy Dorratty Biggs, HOD Dental Center Ebenezer Ogheide, and Staff Officer Makplang Best.

Others from the unions include Branch Chairman of the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives Mr Darong Sylvester, Dr Barnabas Saidu Branch Chairman MDCAN, Mr Peter Godit Branch Chairman MHWUN, Scientist Joel Daboar Branch Chairman AMSLSN, Pharmacist Jonathan Pam, Branch Chairman AHAPN, Dr Shaina’an Andrew Yilvuk Branch Chairman ARD.

Highlights of the event was the tour of the new Physiotherapy Department, New Ward Hospital Beds, Pilows and Mattrasses, Newly Landscape and Beautified Front View of the Hospital, Ground Water Reservior and Recirculation Network, the now fully functional Comprehensive Radiodiagnostic and Imaging Center, Newly Renovated 8-Man Quarters for House Officers, New Administrative Block, New ICT Server Room for the on-boarding to the e-hospital platform etc.