Governor Hope Uzodimma says Imo’s strategic investment in robotics and oncology will provide residents access to advanced specialised healthcare locally.

Mr Uzodimma stated this during a state broadcast on Thursday in Owerri, outlining measures to eliminate medical tourism and strengthen tertiary healthcare. He said the administration’s objective was to establish a modern specialist institution capable of managing complex medical conditions within the state.

“Our objective was very clear: looking to build a modern specialist institution with the facilities, equipment, and professional capacity to manage complex medical conditions here,” he said.

According to him, advanced medical technology would reduce the financial, travelling and emotional burdens families face when seeking treatment abroad.

Mr Uzodimma said technology must be supported by competent professionals, prompting partnerships with international specialists to facilitate knowledge transfer and strengthen local expertise.

“Equipment must be matched with competence. Technology must be matched with training. Infrastructure must be matched with people who know how to use it well,” he said.

He said the oncology unit, combined with robotic surgery, would strengthen cancer diagnosis, intervention and post-operative care within the same specialist environment.

“Across the hospital complex, we now have a modern accident and emergency section with intensive care facilities, neonatal intensive care and dedicated theatres,” he said.

He listed medical oxygen infrastructure, diagnostic facilities, maternity services, paediatrics, physiotherapy, mental health services and specialist wards among the facilities available.

“We have also established this robotic and oncology centre as part of the wider plan for the vision we have in Imo State for healthcare,” he said.

According to him, the robotic surgical system had arrived, while the theatre and supporting equipment had been prepared for clinical operations.

“The robotic surgical system is already here. The theatre has been prepared. The supporting equipment is in place. Tomorrow we begin the next stage by putting this investment to clinical use,” Mr Uzodimma added.

He said his administration had prioritised healthcare affordability by integrating complex tertiary treatments into the state’s health insurance scheme.

“Modern medicine has little meaning to ordinary citizens if it remains beyond them,” the governor said.

Mr Uzodimma said the public-private partnership would transform Imo into a sustainable hub for medical innovation. He said the initiative could position the state as a leading centre for specialist healthcare and medical innovation in West Africa.

The governor announced that the centre’s first procedure would be led on Friday by Kingsley Ekwueme, a United Kingdom-based consultant robotic and macroscopic surgeon.

“Our ambition is to become a state where, whenever a citizen needs quality medical attention, that citizen has confidence that good care can be found here in Imo State,” he said.

Mr Uzodimma said the hospital was also being equipped with MRI, CT scan, PET scan, mammography and X-ray services, alongside interventional radiology suites.

“We are building a system in which diagnosis, treatment, surgery, and follow-up can increasingly take place within the same specialist environment,” he added.

(NAN)