Construction of psychiatric hospital kicks off in Calabar

The management of the Neuro Psychiatric Hospital in Calabar has performed the ground breaking ceremony for the building of their permanent structure along Tinapa road in Calabar Municipality, Cross River State.

The groundbreaking ceremony was done by the Acting Board Chairman of the hospital, Kunle Dada, on Wednesday in Calabar.

Speaking at the event, Dr Bassey Edet, Medical Director, Neuro Psychiatric Hospital, Calabar, said that the allocation of the land was granted to the hospital management in 2000 by the former governor of the state, Donald Duke.

Edet said that the current facility hosting the hospital in Calabar South was no longer large enough to accommodate new buildings and office spaces.

According to him, the site allocated to the hospital was 20.023 hectares of land.

He decried that during the #EndSars protest in 2020, some hoodlums who hijacked the protest in Calabar stormed the hospital, destroyed facilities and carted away valuables worth millions of Naira.

“The hospital is going to contain an Intensive Care Unit, an isolation ward, community clinic for male, female and children and several beds.

“We want to make sure that we provide a broader reach for mental health coverage and make it more accessible by all,” he said.

He pleaded with youths of the host community, Ikpai Omin Qua Community, to support the project and also protect it from vandals.

Paramount Ruler of Calabar South, Professor Itam Hogan, commended the management of the hospital for finally performing the ground breaking of the hospital with a view to commence the building process.

Hogan called on the youths and members of the host community to support the contractors and the management of the hospital to ensure a smooth and hitch-free building of the facility.

Chairman of Joint Health Sector Unions in the hospital, Ken Bassey, said that the groundbreaking ceremony has served as a morale booster to staff of the hospital.