By: Oluwatosin Adedola
The University of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital, Ondo (UNIMEDTH) has described as irresponsible a fake report on social media that Intensive Care Unit (ICU) equipment donated to it by the Redeem Christian Church of God (RCCG) and other donor agencies have been looted.
Conducting journalists round the medical facilities in Ondo City, the Chief Medical Director of the Teaching Hospital, Prof Oluwole Ige, said the equipment donated by RCCG and other donors are intact and being put to use by the hospital for training of students and clinical purposes contrary to the insinuation on social media commentators.
A social media publication had on Tuesday alleged purported looting of ICU equipment donated by the RCCG to the Teaching Hospital.
However, Prof Ige who was represented by Dr Michael Gbala, the Chairman of Medical Advisory, said the Teaching Hospital has done well in its core mandate areas of providing standard and efficient Clinical services, Research, and Training of Health personnel at Undergraduate and postgraduate level.
The CMD said the UNIMED has produced two sets of Medical Doctors and Dental Doctors, three sets of Physiotherapists, Graduate Nurses, Medical Laboratory Scientists, and others.
Prof Ige said it was the time when the management and staff of the Teaching Hospital community should be rejoicing and celebrating unreservedly the successes and achievements by the induction of medical and dental doctors into the medical and Dental profession that the publication came to dampen the morale of the university community.
His words “As at the moment, we hereby emphatically state that all the equipment is intact and at optimal use at the various points of service within the Hospital.
“A monitoring and evaluation team of His Love Foundation (RCCG), the Christian Social Responsibility Ministry of the Redeemed Christian Church of God that donated the equipment visited the Hospital for its usual routine check on 9th November 2023 to verify the state and level of usage of the equipment. Their findings according to what they saw were very satisfactory.
“The Management is aware of a feeble attempt at retraction on unethical publication. The management hereby demands an unequivocal retraction of this false publication and an unreserved apology within the next 48 hours.”
“As Management, we are not aversed to being held accountable as stewards of public enterprise but do hope and seriously advocate that a proper verification of information should always be considered before publication and not just engagement in sensationalism.
“We seek the support of the media in moving the institution forward. UNIMEDTHC is a pride to us in Ondo state and deserves our collective support in one way or the other, especially at this tough time of unabating Japa Syndrome.
“Those of us who have stayed back in Nigeria against all odds to sustain the health of the nation and training of younger generation should be encouraged and not vilified and further demotivated with hateful and untrue scourge of words.
“The management of the Hospital wishes to use this opportunity once again to re-echo its appreciation to the Redeemed Christian Church of God, under the Headship of our Revered Father in the Lord, Pastor E.A. Adeboye, for this great good to humanity through the donation of the equipment.
“The equipment so far, has been highly beneficial to several hundreds of patients in the area of ICU care, Echocardiography, anesthesia, and renal services.”
