IT was exciting and a joyful moment when Total Upstream Nigeria Limited (TUPNI) and partners donated a fully- equipped diagnostic centre worth millions of naira to the Federal   Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital (FNPH), Yaba, Lagos.

 

 The diagnostic centre, named Total Diagnostic Centre, contains a magnetic resonance imagining  (MRI) equipment, modern digital laboratory equipment, electroencephalography (EEG) equipment, sleep laboratory, mini laboratory and seminar room for academic activities. Other components of the centre include records room, sample room, control room, cold room with nine refrigerators, two consulting rooms, two technical rooms, 15 toilets, two changing room, furniture and water supply.           

 

   At the hand over ceremony held on Thursday at the premises of FNPH, TUPNI Deputy Managing Director, Deep Water District, Mr. Charles Ngoka, who was represented by TUPNI Executive General Manager, Deep Water Administration, Ms Chinyere Uche, said the centre was part of TUPNI corporate social responsibility strategy to improve human capital development in Nigeria through strong support for health care. 

 

     “The core objectives   of the Federal Neuro -Psychiatric Hospital are to assess and treat   mental disorders, support recovery and reduce the risk of   harm that individual exhibits to others. It is, therefore, also essential that the causes   of the rising burden of diseases be addressed. Our desire is to partner with Federal Government institutions to cater for the general wellbeing of the Nigerian populace by leveraging on the strengths of the private sector for the benefit of   the public sector,” Ngoka said.

 

 

       She added: “We meet here today, therefore, at a defining moment in the history   of the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital Yaba when the standards   of health care for the vast majority of patients in our communities continue to be in high demand. Therefore, investment    in mental stability of Nigerians is a step in the right direction. This project is borne out of our company deliberate corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative, which aims to give back to the society.” 

 

     FNPH Managing Director, Dr Raheem Lawal, who praised the initiative, said the centre had put the hospital above its competitors in pursuance of quality service. “These equipment will increase the number of   services   we deliver. It will also increase the quality of the services delivery. For example, by the time our sleep laboratory becomes operational, the facility will be one   of the very few of such facilities in Nigeria. It will also serve as research and training centre for sleep disorders. I want   to promise on behalf of the board members and our staff that the building and equipment will be put to proper and efficient use,”Lawal said.

 

   The hospital’s board chairman, Prof. Wale Oladipo, who was represented by Hon. Abraham Jatua, appreciated the gesture and promised to transform the hospital into an institute of international repute. 

 

     Oladipo said: “The commissioning and handing over of the Total Diagnostic Centre, which   we are all witnesses today mark a new dawn in diagnostics.  The ultra-modern facilities and state of the art equipment, especially   the MRI and sleep laboratory, are services that are not easy and cheap to come by. It is our goal to transform this hospital into institute of international status- a one-stop facility where all issues relating   to mental health and psychiatry can be adequately handled without our citizens having to travel outside   the country in search of better mental health. This donation could not have come at a better time.”

 

 Some of the partners represented by South Atlantic Petroleum (SAPETRO) Accounting and Reporting Manager, Mr. Chidi Egomu and   Petrobas Government Relations Manager, Mrs. Meg Irozuru, urged the hospital to justify the huge investment in the edifice by ensuring that the facility is maintained to serve the future generation. 

 

by Joseph Okoghenun