We’ll have to commercialise Aso villa clinic, says perm sec

Jalal Arabi, state house permanent secretary, says the Aso villa clinic will be commercialised to generate revenue.

The hospital, which was established to cater to the medical needs of the president, the vice-president, their families and presidential aides, has been riddled in controversies.

Services in the centre are meant to be free, but patients often buy needed medical supplies.

Although over N3 billion was budgeted for the clinic in 2016 and N331 million in 2017, necessities like syringe, gloves and drugs – even Paracetamol – are missing in the facility.

In an Instagram post attributed to the daughter of the president, Zahra Buhari lamented the state of the clinic.

“More than N3 billion budgeted for the state house clinic and workers there don’t have the equipment to work with? Why?” the post read.

“Where is the money going to? Medication only stocked once since the beginning of the year? Why? state house permanent secretary please answer.

“Why isn’t there simple paracetamol, gloves, syringes? Why do patients/staff have to buy what they need in the state house clinic?”

TheCable had reported that the hospital lacked the commonest of medications and other medical necessities.

In a statement issued by Atta Esa, state house deputy director of information, on Wednesday, the permanent secretary said the management would “among other things seek the commercialisation of the centre to boost its revenue and augment the appropriation it receives from the government in the quest for a better qualitative service”.

“The centre is the only health centre in Abuja where patients are not required to pay any dime before consultation,” he said.

“In other government hospitals in Abuja, patients are required to pay for consultation, treatment, laboratory tests and others but that has not been the case with the state house medical centre.

“The centre offers free services, nobody pays a kobo for hospital card, consultations or prescriptions and this has taken a toll on the subvention the centre receives from the government.

“We have some of the best equipment in the country. For instance, to maintain the MRI and other scan machines, we spend close to N2 million monthly. Yet we do not charge a dime for those who require MRI scans in the clinic.

“We have already created a NHIS desk at the clinic where patients will be required to authentic their profile. If their HMOs are registered in other hospitals they will be required to transfer to the centre.

“This is another way through which we can boost revenue generation at the hospital and this has started yielding results because the stark reality is there is no free lunch anywhere.”

Arabi also dismissed allegations of misappropriation and withholding of funds meant for medical supplies in the centre.

“I know people will insinuate and give all sorts of reasons because they don’t ask but it will be foolhardy and madness for anybody in his senses to defraud a medical centre of a kobo and toying with people’s lives,” he added.

“No sane person will do that, so the truth of the matter is the hospital is being run on  subvention and appropriation; if it comes we pile the drugs; but the truth is the drugs are always overwhelmed by the number of people who use the centre, because it is not controlled.”