The Federal Government-owned University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) which was sited behind the old campus of the university along Lagos Road in the heart of Ilorin has relocated to its permanent site on the outskirts of the capital at Ilorin-Jebba expressway, Oke Oyi.

The relocation of the hospital was received with mixed feelings as it forced many patients from Ilorin to travel long kilometres to get to the hospital.

However, the Kwara State government recently decided to turn the old UITH to a General Hospital by renovating, re-modelling and equipping the hospital to a status befitting of a General Hospital apparently to ease access to health care delivery within the metropolis.

The hospital which has begun operation alongside four others spread across the three senatorial districts in the Central, North and South has, according to the government, been equipped with state-of-the-art facilities.

The other general hospitals are located in Share in Ifelodun Local Government, Kaiama in Kaiama LG, Offa (Offa Local Government) and Omu Aran, the headquarters of Irepodun Local Government.

The five hospitals gulped N3.7bn. As part of the third year anniversary of the governor, Offa and Omu Aran were commissioned and opened to the public last week while that of Share has since been commissioned by the state governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed.

The Ilorin hospital recorded the first delivery last week with the state governor donating N100, 000 to the parents of the first baby to be delivered in the hospital.

While commissioning Offa General Hospital, the governor explained that the newly remodelled hospitals would complement other health centres within their domains especially with the existence of an Advanced Diagnostic Centre in the state.

"Certainly, our determination to provide qualitative healthcare necessitated the renovation and equipping of five general hospitals, including that of Offa. It was also in line with our policy thrust of providing accessible health care within 500 meters radius statewide", Ahmed said.

The governor disclosed that as part of efforts to improve health care delivery in the state, his administration has distributed drugs and equipment to 13 general hospitals and 43 primary health care centres.

Ahmed who noted that the interventions "only reflect the beginning of great things in the sector" added that efforts are on-going to renovate and equip an additional five General Hospitals in the State.

Commissioner for Health in the state, Alhaji Abdul Kayode Isa disclosed that the hospitals were not only equipped but consultants had been engaged in all the clinical areas to make the hospitals functional.

He said the hospitals in serving as referral centres to the over 400 primary health care centres in the state, would aid attainment of goals four, five and six of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) including reduction of maternal mortality, infectious disease and child death.