LAGOS- Dr Adedamola Dada, outgoing Medical Director of Federal Medical Centre, Ebute Metta, said the hospital exported its best practices to over 60 hospitals in five years.
Dada, describing the feat as his greatest achievement as Medical Director, shared this at a media parley organised to highlight his achievements and challenges in office.
He was first appointed on July 2, 2017. He said more than 70 hospitals nationwide had adopted the electronic medical records pioneered by the centre.
“We are the first public hospital to become fully paperless in clinical operations. In five years, we have mentored 60 hospitals on deploying electronic systems.
“We did the mentoring at no cost, believing it would positively impact healthcare delivery across the country.
“These include tertiary, secondary and state hospitals. We want them to serve Nigerians well by implementing the system effectively,” he said.
The Medical Director noted the hospital expanded services using five pillars adopted at the start of his tenure.
He listed the pillars as staff motivation, improved service quality, sound financial management, technology adoption, and infrastructural development.
Dada said the hospital grew from 72 beds to 450, now has a 16-bed ICU, and increased from one to 20 baby incubators.
He added that the hospital now has 12 theatre suites, over 500 patient monitors linked to a central system, and 16 dialysis machines from none initially.
According to him, 4,000 to 5,000 new patients register monthly, and expanded services continue to attract more people to the facility.
“We’ve restored Nigerians’ confidence in public healthcare, thanks to the staff’s dedication and commitment,” Dada stated.
He identified the COVID-19 pandemic as one of the most difficult periods during his leadership.
“There were many challenges, but COVID-19 stood out. It coincided with the hospital’s highest number of deliveries,” he recalled.
“Many pregnant women came from other hospitals where they couldn’t access care during the pandemic,” he explained.
He also recalled the EndSARS period as tough. “I slept in the hospital for seven days with other staff due to restricted movement,” he said. (NAN)
