Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has unveiled a newly upgraded Neuropsychiatric Hospital and a new General Hospital in Rumuigbo, Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, as part of his administration’s efforts to expand access to modern healthcare and strengthen treatment for mental health and substance abuse challenges in the state.
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The facilities were formally opened by the outgoing President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mazi Afam Josiah Osigwe, SAN, who performed the symbolic ribbon-cutting and commended the state government for investing in healthcare, particularly mental health services.
Fubara said the Neuropsychiatric Hospital was originally conceived in 1970 and commissioned in 1977 with about 50 beds, but had become inadequate for the needs of a growing population. Following an inspection of the old facility and a rehabilitation centre being developed from the Hospital Management Board’s limited overhead funds, he said he directed that the entire complex be rebuilt, modernised and upgraded.
According to the governor, the intervention was also prompted by concerns over drug abuse and conditions around the old rehabilitation centre. He alleged that the premises had become a location where drugs were trafficked to inmates, saying the reconstruction, fencing and controlled access would help curb such activities.
The remodelled Neuropsychiatric Hospital now includes a 100-bed rehabilitation centre designed to cater for persons dealing with mental health and substance abuse problems. Fubara said contemporary social pressures, including unemployment and depression, underscored the need for modern rehabilitation facilities capable of helping affected persons recover and reintegrate into society.
Explaining the decision to construct a General Hospital within the complex, Fubara said Obio/Akpor, one of the state’s most populous local government areas, had largely depended on primary healthcare centres, while residents requiring higher levels of care had to travel to institutions such as the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital or the Braithwaite Memorial Hospital.
He said the new General Hospital would provide secondary healthcare services within the local government area, while patients requiring specialised treatment could be referred to tertiary institutions.
Fubara reiterated that his administration had identified education, healthcare and housing as three critical areas of development, saying the government was working to deliver meaningful improvements in all three sectors.
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The governor also appealed to the Obio/Akpor Local Government Council and the host community to take ownership of the hospitals and protect the facilities from vandalism and theft.
“You’re the direct beneficiaries of it. Don’t say it is a government thing. It is in your place. Who knows, it might take you a long time to get something like this again,” he said.
Osigwe, SAN, while commending the emphasis on mental health, urged Nigerians to stop stigmatising people who seek treatment at psychiatric facilities.
He stressed that mental healthcare was not limited to persons with severe psychiatric disorders but also covered conditions arising from stress, depression and personal crises, adding that persons seeking professional help deserved support rather than discrimination.
The Permanent Secretary in the Rivers State Ministry of Health, Dr Vincent Wachukwu, said the General Hospital was equipped with Accident and Emergency services, consulting rooms, a pharmacy, laboratory, X-ray facilities, delivery room, maternity, antenatal and postnatal wards.
Other facilities include an operating theatre, surgery recovery room, Central Sterilising Services Department, Intensive Care Unit, Newborn Intensive Care Unit, paediatric wards, male and female general wards with 50 beds each, private wards and administrative offices.
The Neuropsychiatric Hospital, according to Wachukwu, contains consulting rooms, a pharmacy, laboratory, male and female 50-bed wards, a substance and drug abuse rehabilitation centre, 50-bed private wards, administrative offices, recreational spaces and a meeting hall.
The complex also features an electroconvulsive therapy centre, ICT centre, canteen, mortuary, generator house, internal road networks and landscaping, as well as a 216-bed students’ hostel and staff quarters comprising 12 two-bedroom apartments.
Both hospitals have been furnished with modern medical equipment and supplied with separate ambulances. The complex is also supported by a 500KVA transformer, a 350KVA generating set and solar panels with inverter batteries capable of providing 120KVA of power.
The Chief Medical Director of the Rivers State Hospital Management Board, Bright Ogbonda, said improvements in public hospitals across the state had increased public confidence and patronage. He said the number of patients attending the facilities now exceeded available staff strength despite the state government’s employment of 2,000 health workers about two years ago.
The Chairman of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Gift Worlu, also commended the governor for prioritising healthcare, saying the modern neuropsychiatric facility would contribute to addressing mental health challenges affecting residents.
Fubara said the ultimate objective of the projects was to ensure that residents of Rivers State had access to quality healthcare that would enable them to remain healthy and productive.
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