Barring any major setback or challenge, the Epe Maternal and Childcare Centre (MCC), which is nearing completion, would be ready for use by Epe communities in two months.
Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr. Olusegun Ogboye, who disclosed this during an inspection tour of the specialist facility, explained that the completion of the four-floor edifice has gotten to an advanced stage with just a few fittings left.
He said: “The work on the facility is quite advanced. Most of the infrastructures are in place; we just need to put some fittings in, do some finalisations, tidy up everything, and I think it should be up and running in about two months”.
Expressing satisfaction at the level of work done so far, Ogboye said the Epe MCC like others that have been commissioned during the present administration of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, is an improvement on the earlier ones which are consequent upon the lessons learned for improved service delivery.
He noted that the Epe MCC has all the alternatives of power supply including electricity from the National Grid, a dedicated Generator, Solar Power and an Inverter which would keep the facility up and running without power outage when opened.
According to Dr. Ogboye, “Definitely we learn from each MCC that we have commissioned and one major thing we do is to give all the alternatives of power when we set up an MCC. For this MCC, we have electricity from the Grid, a Generator, Solar power and then an Inverter. This also goes for each of the new MCCs that are coming up on stream”.
“We are learning even how to distribute services and how to distribute space amongst the different departments, so definitely we are learning from each one and we are putting the learning into the next one we are doing”, the Permanent Secretary said.
Noting that the plan of the Governor Sanwo-Olu led administration is to have a maternal and child centre in every division of Lagos, Ogboye said the idea is to ensure that the State indices for maternal and child health improves well, while women of childbearing age and children get access to very good maternal and child healthcare services that would ensure mothers and their babies are alive and well.
He added that the completion of the facility and commencement of operation would guarantee the safety of pregnant women in Epe and ensure that their antenatal, as well as post-natal care needs, are assured.
“I would like to use this opportunity to ask the Epe community to please protect this asset. They should see it as their own and see the people working here as their family. So help us take care of them and take care of the facility”, Ogboye stated.
When finished, the Epe MCC would be the third MCC to be completed by the present administration aside from the Eti-Osa MCC and the Badagry MCC that was commissioned recently.
Ogboye was accompanied on the facility inspection tour by the General Manager, Lagos State Infrastructure Management Agency (LASIAMA), Ms. Nike Adekanbi; Director Health Care Planning Research and Statistics, Ministry of Health, Dr. Dayo Lajide and a team from the Project Unit in the Ministry of Health.