When in March 2010 the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, UITH, was moved to its permanent site along Old Jebba Road in Ilorin, Kwara State capital, many thought the hospital was bound to witness low patronage from patients because of its long distance as against its old location in the heart of the city.

But two years after, it has been one success story. Briefing journalists recently in Ilorin, the Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Professor Abdulwaheed Olatinwo, confirmed that contrary to people's expectation, the hospital is recording more patients than it used to have at its temporary site due to certain logistics put in place by the management.

calling that only a few clinical departments were in operation at the permanent site when he took over as the CMD, Olatinwo said enthusiastically that, today, clinical departments are in place at the permanent site , making it possible for the hospital to carry out all clinical activities there. This is in addition to the establishment of the Assisted Reproductive Technology Unit for women in dire need of the fruit of the womb through IVF and commencement of minimal invasive high profile surgeries in paediatrics, ophthalmology, ENT, gynaecology, orthopedic and plastic surgery among others.

According to the CMD, the UITH as an institution has not confined itself to its skill alone, prompting it to enter into international collaboration with other world renowned institutions for skill exchange and acquisition, capacity building and improved health care. Such institutions include Hospice International on Pain and Palliative Medicine and Care based in Uganda; International Society of Nephrology and Sheffield University, United Kingdom, on renal care and kidney transplant as well as Erasmus Institute based in Netherlands on ENT care. He said the hospital is at an advanced stage of establishing a renal transplant department, and expressed optimism that before the end of 2012, the hospital would be in a position to carry out renal transplant.

The major challenge facing the hospital, he said, has been paucity of fund. According to the CMD, the hospital, aside paying N2 million monthly as electricity bill, spends N16 million monthly on diesel. In the face of dwindling resources from the federal government, Olatinwo said the hospital management saw the need to embark on an aggressive drive to improve its internally generated revenue. In line with this, the Public Private Partnership, PPP, units in the hospital were reconstituted and strengthened towards better performance and result-oriented activities, resulting in the building of a multi-purpose shopping mall, eatery outfit and a banking hall, while plans are also at an advanced stage to construct a Patients Relations Hostel, and build a nursery and primary school as well as a petrol filling station.

The hospital's financial situation notwithstanding, the management has made provision of certain amount of money to take care of indigent patients. He said: "From money collected, we set aside one per cent of it to take care of indigent patients, because of our belief that money should not be a barrier to accessing health-care delivery by people, particularly those that are poor."

For this reason, Olatinwo, while commending both the federal and the Kwara State governments for their kind gestures to the hospital, called on well-meaning individuals and corporate bodies to assist in elevating the institution to an enviable height of excellence. He said: "We are ready to partner with individuals or groups who may wish to endow projects in the hospital, or who may wish to partner with the hospital under the Build-Operate-Transfer arrangement."