UCTH upgrades patient care with advanced endoscopy techniques

The University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Cross River State has upscaled its range of clinical services and patient care with the introduction of advanced endoscopic procedures.

The Chief Medical Director of the UCTH, Professor Ikpeme Ikpeme, disclosed to journalists in Calabar, the state capital, on Monday, that the hospital is the second government-owned facility to introduce advanced endoscopic procedures in the country.

Ikpeme said that the teaching hospital was collaborating with the Massachusetts General Hospital to advance endoscopic practice in Cross River State and Nigeria in general.

He further explained, “Before this time, if somebody had pancreatic cancer and needed to do a biopsy, we would need to give them a big incision in the abdomen to go see the pancreas and then do the biopsy. But, with what we have now, we introduce a camera mounted on a fibre optic cable and looking at the video screen, we get to the specific area, do the biopsy needed, administer the treatment and the person is fine.

“It involved the introduction of Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography and Endoscopic Ultrasound. The advantage of this is that it would improve the diagnosis of hepatopancreatic biliary diseases, and when that happens, then the chances for better treatment are also improved.

“We (UCTH) have had a basic endoscopy programme ongoing for years, but we thought it was time to upscale it and introduce advanced endoscopy. So, we got into a collaboration with the Massachusetts General Hospital to advance endoscopic practice in our locality.

“We are the second federal institution doing this. The only other federal institution is the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital. So our collaboration is actually with Massachusetts General Hospital with a lot of support from OAU Teaching Hospital”, the CMD emphasised.

The UCTH Chief Medical Director explained the details of the partnership and the commitment of the hospital to provide affordable healthcare, drive medical tourism and achieve access to quality healthcare services for people.

According to Ikpeme, the hospital had trained its staff in the United States of America and India as well as procured the equipment for the advanced endoscopic procedure, noting “We have also completed a one-week training programme for our staff here in Calabar with the support of our partners.”

“The training was hands-on on models and live patients led by our staff. We are building capacity, we are building expertise because we want it to survive and be sustainable long after the three-year MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) comes to an end. We have successfully treated 8 patients free of charge, who were supposed to travel outside Nigeria for the same treatment.”

Speaking further on the benefits of new cutting-edge, specialist-driven service offered, the CMD said, “Advanced medical treatment in this speciality is being brought nearer home, nearer to the common man.

“It means improved accessibility because it would be more affordable, improved diagnostics, improved treatment and improved outcomes for Nigeria and Africa generally. So it is a win-win for everybody,” he added.