It was an atmosphere filled with joy as a leading health care provider in Akure, the Ondo State capital, Sckye Hospital Limited on Friday, 26th August, 2016 extended their medical health services to participants of this year’s Nigerian Indigenous Language Programme (NILP) at the Institute’s South-West Zonal office in Akure.
While addressing staffers and the NILP participants before the check up, the Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Thomas-Wilson Ikubese, talked extensively on health related issues and the need civil servants to make proper use of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), as it is one of the most well thought out schemes by the Federal Government to improve the health needs of its work force, saying its benefits cannot be overemphasized.
Using hypertension, as a case study and one of the common health challenges in the society today, Dr. Ikubese said hypertension, which is also known as, High Blood Pressure, is the elevation of the blood above the normal range, describing the ailment as, a “silent killer”, whose causes range from obesity, eating of fatty foods, excessive intake of alcohol and salt, smoking, and family history, among other things.
The medical practitioner said hypertension has no known symptom, but when not detected on time, it could result to other complications, such as, swollen legs, hypertensive retinopathy (blurred vision), hypertensive encephalopathy (mental disorder), stroke and damage to other vital organs in the body, such as, the kidney and the liver.
According to him, there is no absolute cure for hypertension but it can be managed through regular exercises and visiting the hospital for check up and medication, equally advising the audience against the use of alternative therapy, saying as a medical practitioner, he would not advise anyone to go for such therapy; but that should there be need for such, one should discontinue the orthodox medicine as their mixture could spell doom for its user.
Dr. Ikubese used the opportunity to solicit staffers who have not enlisted in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) or would want to change their health providers to avail themselves of the services of the hospital, which provides both primary and secondary health care under the Scheme.
The medical team thereafter carried out blood pressure and other checks on members of staff and participants of the NILP.
Earlier, in his welcome address, the Zonal Coordinator, NICO South-West Zone, Mr. James Imohiosen, welcomed the medical team and thanked them for counting the Institute’s South-West office worthy of the gesture, reiterating the need for civil servant to maintain sound health, as good health is the panacea for effective service delivery.
He apologized for not including the hospital as beneficiaries for this year’s NILP; however, promising to maintain a good working relationship with the hospital and carry them along in subsequent language programmes and all other activities of the Institute.
Responding on behalf of the NILP participants, Mr. Abdulmalik M. Jamiu, who registered to learn Igbo and Hausa languages, expressed his gratitude to the CMD and medical team of Sckye Hospital Limited for the gesture.
“I am overwhelmed with what I experienced today. This check up done on me today was my first this year and if not for these languages I came here to learn, I would not have done a check up this year”, he said; and thanking the hospital management and promising to patronize them whenever the need arises.
Ogaga Anakpoha
Corporate Affairs
NICO SWZ, Akure