An ultramodern trauma centre known as Sulaiman Adebola Adegunwa Trauma Centre has been opened at the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH) in Sagamu Ogun State to reduce mortality rate from accidents on the ever busy Lagos-Ibadan expressway and Benin-Sagamu expressway in Ogun State.
The two highways are some of the busy highways in Nigeria with high influx of vehicular movements and accidents.
According to the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Lagos-Ibadan and Benin-Shagamu account for 41.5 per cent of accidents in Ogun State as revealed by the state commissioner for Health, Dr. Tomi Cooker.
The increasing number of accidents in the axis would therefore require facilities to handle the expected trauma cases resorting from such accidents.
The Sulaiman Adebola Adegunwa Trauma Centre at the OOUTH, the only tertiary institution along the Lagos-Ibadan and Benin Highway axis was however described as a reprieve for accident victims, which would reduce mortality from accidents.
Trauma refers to physical injuries of sudden onset and severity, which require immediate medical attention, especially resuscitation and interventions to save life.
Without an effective and sufficiently equipped trauma centre, handling emergencies may become extremely difficult for any tertiary health institution.
The Chief Medical Director of the OOUTH, Dr. Bunmi Fatungase told our correspondent that the hospital records about 2, 000 trauma cases on a monthly basis from minor and major cases.
Speaking during the commissioning of the Sulaiman Adebola Adegunwa Trauma Centre donated by an industrialist and philanthropist, Asiwaju Sulaiman Adegunwa to mark his 80th birthday, Fatungase said the new centre is a one-stop trauma centre for all types of trauma cases.
He said, "We have a 20-bed Accident and Emergency unit which serves for surgical and medical emergencies which is grossly inadequate and then we have always nursed to have a trauma centre for over 20 years ago because from Lagos to Benin to Ibadan, there is no general hospital to take care of accident victims and we have a huge number of accident victims that come here. I have always been involved in an accident about 30 years ago and I was taken to a general hospital without any facility, I had to be taken to a private hospital where I had about a six-hour surgery that night.
"So this trauma centre is 50-bedded. We have the basement with major diagnostic facilities - MRI, CT, X-Ray and then on the ground floor we have the resuscitation room, we have seminar room and reception room.
"Then on the first floor, we have three well equipped operating theatre suites for cardiothoracic surgery, we have for neurosurgery because we have a lot of trauma patients and then we have a general orthopaedic suite.
"So we have different kinds of trauma and this is going to be dedicated only and solely for trauma while the former Accident and Emergency would be used solely for emergencies so that we can create more space."
Vice-President Kashim Shettima who commissioned the centre alongside Ogun governor, Dapo Abiodun and other dignitaries disclosed that the federal government has approved the establishment of 8,880 new primary healthcare centres across the country under the Comprehensive Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative.
Shettima who was elated with the centre described it as a humanitarian gesture that would benefit the generations yet unborn.
Ogun State governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun acknowledged the critical role of the centre as a monumental facility established for the benefit of humanity.
He described the condition of the hospital when he assumed office six years ago as terrible, saying his administration had made efforts to reposition and restore the health facility to its present state.
"When I assumed office in 2019, this hospital was the first health centre I visited, and the condition was so bad that we had to declare an emergency on this facility. We set up a panel headed by Dr. Yemi Onabowale of Redington and others to advise on how to reposition this hospital.
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"In line with their recommendations, we constituted and inaugurated the hospital governing board, which had not existed for many years. We brought in Pa Adegunwa to cooperate and work with them. Now, emergency cases, particularly trauma from road accidents and other critical conditions requiring quick and expert intervention, will be attended to, especially in view of the fact that the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, the busiest road in Nigeria, and the Sagamu-Benin Expressway are contiguous to this health facility," he said.
On his part, the donor recalled how the hospital effectively utilised and maintained the audio visual centre he donated years ago, saying a desire was sparked within him "To explore how I could further contribute to the health and well-being of our community through this vital institution."
