The department of anaesthesia has been in rudimentary stage since the inception of the hospital as visiting anaesthetists were invited routinely when there are surgical cases until the arrival of Dr Gabriella Ekwem, then a senior registrar in later 2012.
She tried her best to organize the department with the nurse anaesthetists working with her. The arrival of the first physician anaesthetist marked a turning point as the department became well established.
The intensive care unit came into being in 2015 and this has helped in expanding the scope of surgeries being done in the hospital.
The department got accreditation from the West African college of surgeons (WACS) to train candidate doctors at Diploma level in 2016. We have graduated in three sets so far. This has helped the image of the hospital as more peripheral hospitals send their doctors here for training.
As at now, we also have accreditation for membership training by the national postgraduate college.
Currently, the department has only 2 consultants, two senior registrars, six registrars and one supernumerary. There are 5 nurse anaesthetists also. The ICU has 10 well-trained nurses caring for our patients.
The services rendered include general anaesthetists, regional anaesthetics and peripheral blocks. Other specialized services include labour analgesics, central line insertion, sedation in endoscopy and In-vitro fertilization unit.
Anaesthetics department has been on hand in resuscitation in A & E and other departments/wards whenever the need arises.
Our goal is to continue to deliver safe and improved anaesthetics to our esteemed patients.