By Murtala Muhammad
The Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH), Bauchi, has turned its end-of-year celebration into a platform for driving progress in healthcare delivery.
At the event, the hospital not only honoured its outstanding staff for their contributions in 2024 but also shared actionable strategies for addressing key challenges, including the pressing issue of high electricity costs.
Chief Medical Director, Professor Yusuf Bara Jibrin, detailed the hospital’s significant achievements during the year under review includes the implementation of e-health software to streamline patient care, a new ambulance service designed to provide timely emergency responses.
Others are the launch of home-based geriatric care for elderly patients, free caesarean surgeries aimed at reducing maternal and child mortality and expansions at the ATBU Gubi Campus to boost infrastructure.
ATBUTH has also during the year under review earned a prestigious grant from the Medical Research Council of the Gambia at the London School of Hygiene for vaccine clinical trials.
These initiatives according to the the Chief Medical Director, demonstrate ATBUTH’s commitment to improving healthcare access and outcomes for the Bauchi community and beyond.
Despite the achievements recorded, Professor Jibrin acknowledged challenges such as high electricity bills, insufficient human and capital resources, energy and water shortages, and resistance to digital transformation.
He however, noted that the hospital is proactively seeking solutions to include exploring renewable energy sources to reduce dependency on costly electricity, accelerating infrastructure development to address resource gaps, expanding community outreach initiatives to strengthen healthcare accessibility among others.
Professor Jibrin urged the hospital community to maintain a forward-looking mindset, saying, “ATBUTH’s journey is forward, not backward. Let no one say it cannot be done; rather, let us demonstrate that together, we can and will achieve our goals.”
A statement by the hospital’s Public Relations Officer, Usman Abdullahi Koli says as part of the celebration, 120 staff members including department heads, managers, and union leaders were recognised with commendation letters for their dedication and exemplary service.
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