The Kwara State Hospitals Management Board (KW-HMB) has conducted a routine monitoring and inspection visit to the Children's Specialist Hospital, Centre Igboro, Ilorin, as part of efforts to strengthen service delivery and improve patient care across government-owned health facilities.

The Executive Secretary of the Board, Dr Abdulraheem Malik, said the inspection was aimed at obtaining first-hand information on service delivery, staff performance, patient care, facilities and the general condition of the hospital.

Areas inspected during the visit included ventilation at the Emergency Paediatric Unit (EPU), power supply, water reticulation, availability of drugs and consumables, as well as general space management within the facility.

Dr Malik stressed the importance of regular monitoring of healthcare facilities to identify challenges and ensure that government hospitals provide safe, effective and patient-centred care.

"Our responsibility is to ensure that our hospitals provide safe, effective and patient-centred care. We will continue to monitor our facilities, identify areas requiring improvement and work with the management and staff to address them," he said.

He commended the management and staff of the hospital for their commitment to providing quality healthcare to children, urging them to maintain professionalism, discipline, compassion and prudent use of government resources.

During the inspection, the Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr Mrs Mosunmola R. Folorunsho, raised concerns over the supply of oxygen cylinders in different sizes, saying the situation created operational difficulties in delivering oxygen to patients.

Responding to the concern, Dr Malik immediately directed the Engineering and Development Projects (EDP) Department of the Board to provide the hospital with its preferred oxygen cylinder size going forward.

He said the measure was intended to improve efficiency and facilitate timely delivery of oxygen to patients who require it.

The Executive Secretary assured the hospital management that observations from the inspection would be reviewed and appropriate measures taken to address identified challenges within the Board's capacity.

Dr Folorunsho, in turn, commended the Executive Secretary and the Board for consistently prioritising the welfare of healthcare workers and patients, as well as maintaining regular monitoring and oversight of government health facilities across the state.