The Permanent Secretary, State House, Jalal Arabi, has said plans are under the way to commercialise the State House Medical Center.
On Saturday, President Muhammadu Buhari’s daughter, Zahra, took to her Instagram page to raise concerns over the poor state of the Center.
Arabi, while reacting to the news, said the clinic, which currently offers free medical services to patients, would be re-positioned to offer qualitative and efficient services.
The clinic provides medical services to the President, Vice President and their families, aides, members of staff of the State House and other entitled public servants.
It is also a training facility for house officers and other medical personnel.
Commercialisation
Arabi 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.
“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,” he said.
Arabi said the proposed reforms will ensure that those eligible to use the Centre are NHIS-compliant with their Health Maintenance Organisations (HMOs) or primary health provider domiciled in the clinic.
