The management of the Rivers State Teaching Hospital, (RSUTH) has said its digitisation moves such as the e-consultation, e-registration, online intern assessment, multiple payment options, including Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) among others have improved service delivery and ensuring patients satisfaction.
USSD, sometimes referred to as “quick codes” or “feature codes”, is a communications protocol used by Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) cellular telephones to communicate with the mobile network operator’s computers.
A statement by the Acting Director of Administration of the facility, Mr. Okechuku Chukuigwe, at the weekend, noted that critical facilities that was previously lacking in the hospital has been put in place and as well, existing ones renovated.
The statement noted that since three years, the State Governor, Nyesom Wike, brought phenomenal transformation to the State apex hospital, adding that the facility has fast transformed into centre of excellence.
Part of the statement reads: “The construction of critical facilities previously lacking and renovation of existing ones such as the digitisation—e-consultation, e-registration, online intern assessment, multiple payment options including USSD; the introduction of continuous training and welfare packages for the hospital’s workforce; the realignment of the hospital’s leadership structure, standardising organogram and introduction of RSUTH’s five-year strategic plan and the improved patient satisfaction as direct fallout of the introduction of first ever clinical Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for all its service providers.
“Others are the elimination of miscommunication and compliance failures through workflow redefinition, the successful accreditation of courses of the Rivers State University College of Medical Sciences for the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) programme; the reaccreditation of departments by the Post-graduate Medical Colleges; the payment of Residency training Grants to residents resulting in better performance in various Fellowship examinations of the West African and National Post-graduate Medical Colleges and 24-hour power supply in the hospital.”
The statement disclosed further that in its infancy, 375-bed facility run by some 731 medical personnel spread across 12 medical and four support services departments has further given a boost to the hospital. According to the statement, the Chief Medical Director, Dr. Friday Aaron, has reiterated the resolve of the management and staff of the hospital to translate the vision of Governor Wike in creating the teaching hospital into the delivery of first-class medical services to the people of the state and the entire Niger Delta region.
“We thank the State Governor for his vision of transforming the former Braithwaite Specialist Hospital into a full fledge teaching hospital for the training of medical students and other health professionals from the Rivers State University,” it added.
