Inside the Peter and Anna Bawa Memorial Hospital in Kwande community, Qua’an Pan local government area, Plateau State.
By Marie-Therese Nanlong
Jos – Qua’an Pan local government area of Plateau State is an embodiment of everything remote. For decades, the area has not enjoyed basic infrastructures like good roads, potable water, or quality education and health services.
Available government healthcare centres cannot boast of manpower, equipment nor drugs, and other commodities to help the people when sick as most times, the personnel just give referrals for the sick to be taken to secondary or tertiary hospitals.
Citizens of the area who can afford it travel many kilometers to either Jos, the State capital, or Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital to cater to their health needs, and those without means either patronize half-baked practitioners, take local concoctions, or take advantage of periodic free medical services by public-spirited persons and groups to present their cases.
These poor people sometime present the cases late, therefore, making treatment complicated as the delay causes havoc in their bodies.
The privileged Bawa Shitgurum family from the local government area had over the years engaged in an annual free medical outreach to give the people access to professional medical checks but this effort had not yielded the desired result of making quality and affordable healthcare available.
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To remedy the situation and provide a lasting solution, the Peter and Anna Bawa Memorial Hospital has been built in the Kwande community of the local government area to ensure citizens have a ready option at all times.
The 50 beds hospital, worth millions of Naira, comprises six male and female wards in addition as well as Children and Maternity wards and will commence full operations in October 2022 but in preparatory to the full take off, the hospital will start a test run of services in September this year.
The Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Duncan Group of Companies, Dr. Godfrey Bawa Shitgurum, who led his management team and medical personnel on an inspection tour of the facilities in the hospital disclosed three qualified doctors and other qualified medical and health personnel would always be on the ground to attend to patients.
Dr. Shitgurum explained that the hospital was built by one of their outfits, the Peter Bawa and Anna Foundation as a way of giving back to the people of the community and its environs, and once operational, the plights of the people would be reduced as they would not need to travel many kilometers with ill-health to seek medical attention.
Also, Miskoom Larry Bawa, added that equipment, drugs, and most of the essential materials for the take-off are already in place and commended the medical team for ensuring that the hospital is of international standards, urging them not to relent in meeting all the requirements before the October 2022 commencement date.
He maintained, “The idea behind the establishment of the hospital was based on the philosophy of the Foundation to provide modern health facilities for underserved rural areas, the provision of such services will assist in ending unnecessary deaths and suffering of the people within the area.”
Miskoom Bawa stressed that apart from the provision of medical services, the establishment of hospital will create jobs, boost the economy of the area as well open other opportunities that will better the lives of members of the community and its environs.
A member of the medical team, Dr. Benedict Mairiga commended the Duncan Group of Companies as well as the Peter Bawa and Anna Foundation for their commitment to the project and assured them of prudent management of personnel and resources, adding that “the best hands would be recruited to meet the standards, vision, and mission of the hospital.”
Some of the major facilities available at the hospital include an Ultrasound scan, ECHO, and EGG. Laboratories, Ambulance, and mortuary, while the services to be rendered include medical, surgical, maternity, neonatal, and other specialized care like radiological and others.
However, a resident, Stephen Musa expressed joy at the development saying, “Our people will no longer be stranded due to the absence of quality health facility and personnel.”
