INTRODUCTION

I assumed duty as the Chief Medical Director of our great institution, Bowen University Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso on 2^nd January, 2025. Our administration came in with leadership-driven transformation agenda comprising of five-prong approaches: Adherence to Institutional Stewardship, Human Resources Development, Infrastructural Upgrade, Financial improvement and Digital Technology – The principle of ‘SHIFT’.

Adherence to Institutional Stewardship aimed at quality clinical service through ethical governance and accountability. This involves adhering to and or restructuring of some management policies to encourage transparency, team work and collegial attitudes.

Human Resources Development: It centres on staff capacity building to re-orientate, empower and motivate staff through training, sponsorship of clinical and non-clinical staff members for conferences and improved welfare package.

Infrastructural Upgrade involves gradual upgrade of essential infrastructures for clinical services, training and research. At inception, we mapped those clinical or training programs which would expand our services and improve revenue. While the upgrade was meant to be holistic, Eye Care Services and School of Health Information Management (SHIM) were to be given priorities at the first instance.

Improving Hospital Financing by improving revenue generation, limiting or eliminating leaks and fostering strong external support.

Leveraging on Digital Technology to improve clinical services, administrative outputs, teaching and research works. We know that digital technology will improve turnaround time for clinical and laboratory activities, eliminate clerical errors, reduce need for paper documentation and reduce delays.

 SOME NOTABLE ACTIVITIES DURING 2025

As this administration clocks one year in office, we are glad to share some of the achievements recorded in the year 2025.

• Clinical Services

1. 1. Residency Training accreditation and reaccreditation were pursued in order to expand the scope of specialist training within the institution and reaffirm our commitment to excellence in postgraduate medical education.
      • Obstetrics and Gynaecology: We successfully secured a five-year reaccreditation of the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Residency Training Programme
      • Orthopaedic Surgery: Still awaiting result.
      • Paediatrics: A reaccreditation exercise took place in September 2025. We are awaiting result.
   2. We successfully relocated and upgraded the VIP Clinic to enhance service delivery, patients’ comfort and operational efficiency.
   3. We established a GOPD Point-of-Care Laboratory to improve turnaround time for investigations and support timely clinical decision-making. This has also impacted positively on the hospital revenue.
   4. We renovated some clinical areas notably the Physiotherapy building and Paediatric Ward (tiling and installation of new improved curtains). Other areas such as the Consultant’s Lodge and Mini-shops were also renovated.
   5. Some medical equipment such as X-ray digitizer, Quantitative Immunoassay FA 50 Analyser, diathermy, Hawskey Haematocrit Centrifuge, Swinging Bucket Centrifuge, LUBI LED Phototherapy Device, Humby Knife, Ultrasound Probe, Olympus CX33 Microscope with Cameras and several medical monitoring devices were newly purchased.
   6. We initiated and sustained regular Hospital Grand Rounds to foster interdisciplinary learning, clinical excellence and continuous professional development.
   7. The following major global health events were actively commemorated: World Sight Day, World Physiotherapy Day, World Social Works Day, World ENT Day, World Immunisation Week, World Sickle Cell day. These activities enhanced public health awareness and strengthened multidisciplinary collaboration.
   8. We successfully held the inaugural matriculation ceremony for 122 ND I nursing students on 25 April 2025, marking a major milestone in nursing education.
   9. We re-instituted local production of some consumables, such as Savlon.
   10. We secured BUTH Management Board approval to establish the following programs. Much more importantly, the Management is putting in necessary efforts to transform these approvals to realities
       • School of Health Information Management: This aimed at strengthening training capacity in health data and information systems.
       • Retinal Laser Unit: Establishment of a Retinal Laser Unit within the Ophthalmology Department will expand specialised eye care services.
       • Dietetics Kitchen: This will expand our nutritional services, e.g. specialised diet to some patients.

• Administration and Personnel

1. 1. Implementation of Salary Adjustments: In order to improve staff welfare and morale, we implemented the following:
      1. • 100% payment of approved CONHESS-related salaries for Intern Pharmacists and Medical Laboratory Scientists.
         • Salary adjustments for all staff. Although this is still below the desired package, it was a significant leap in the right direction which we firmly believe will be improved upon.
         • Increase in Hazard allowance by 150% from five thousand naira to twelve thousand and five hundred naira.

1. 2. During the year, we conducted the first real-time annual promotion exercise with 100% success.
   3. We secured debt cancellation / swapping of about Thirty Million Naira from Bowen University, Iwo.
   4. We conducted advocacy visits to key stakeholders and potential donors to strengthen partnerships and resource mobilization. Some of these visits are already yielding financial supports for the institution. The hospital received support from individuals, organisations, and churches, including cash donations, medical equipment and sponsorship for the settlement of patients’ hospital bills.
   5. We instituted a new centralised approval channel for institutional requests in a bid to streamline administrative processes. It requires that all applicable requests are routed through appropriate authorities to receive final approval from the Office of the CMD. This measure has strengthened oversight, improved accountability, and ensured alignment with hospital policies and strategic objectives.
   6. We also implemented a review and change of authorised signatories to the hospital accounts for financial governance, transparency and internal control.
   7. We redesigned and relaunched BUTH website to enhance our visibility and enabled us to start an online recruitment application exercise.
   8. We enforced mandatory use of staff identification cards to enhance professionalism, accountability, hospital security, and i
   9. We reinstituted Annual Award and Recognition Program to motivate deserving staff and to honour retired staff.
   10. We procured an official Sports Utility Vehicle for the Office of the Chief Medical Director to improve administrative efficiency and external engagements.

 IDENTIFIED AREAS OF STRENGTH TO LEVERAGE ON

The Management will leverage on the following areas of strengths to improve our services in 2026:

We will build on the strong mission and values our hospital is known for. BUTH operates with a clear vision of excellence, godliness, and professionalism, which fosters compassionate patient care and ethical practice. The Management will frontally lead by example and encourage staff and students to uphold these lofty attributes.

As a teaching hospital, BUTH trains doctors, nurses, and other health professionals, thereby building a pipeline of skilled clinicians and contributing to healthcare workforce development. Our Administration will continue to provide enabling environment for our training arms to excel.

The hospital provides comprehensive clinical services including emergency, medical, surgical, dental, community health care, etc. The hospital being a Mission hospital operates a patient-centred care that attends to patients’ spiritual and psychological needs in addition to physical ailments. We will continue to invest in these services to meet global standards and improve our clients’ satisfaction and loyalty.

BUTH is also known for strong community engagement. In 2026, the Management will support active community health outreach and preventive services to enhance public trust and institutional visibility. We will Increase our engagement with underserved communities to expand preventive services, public health education, and strengthen referral networks, e.g. Are-Ago Primary Health Centre.

SOME OF OUR PRESENT CHALLENGES TO ADDRESS IN 2026

As a private teaching hospital, the Management is not oblivious of our challenges. We will continue to work together to prevent and or address them. They include:

Understaffing, especially among resident doctors, consultants, and nurses, affecting service responsiveness and workload distribution. Specifically, we are currently experiencing low retention of specialists and experienced clinicians. They leave for better opportunities. Unfortunately, a growing number of private and university-affiliated hospitals are competing for the same workforce and patient population.

Stress and workload pressures resulting from high patient-to-doctor/nurse ratios and understaffing. These significantly impact staff morale and performance.

Infrastructure and Technology Gaps: Some hospital systems (e.g., ICT, diagnostics) are not fully optimised for research or advanced clinical demand.

Financial Constraints: Limited funding affects our operational capacity, growth initiatives, facility expansion and recruitment. The prevailing currency depreciation and inflation in the country increase our operational costs.

As stated above, our pay is in percentage of the national minimum wage. This is the most important singular factor causing our low recruitment and retention of core clinical workers.

 STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE ON OUR MANDATES IN 2026

The Management will continue to collaborate with government health programs, NGOs, international research partners, and faith-based funders for research grants, training support and infrastructure development.

This Administration will continue to build capacity, improve on the current welfare package and support continuing medical/professional education. We will continue to build our postgraduate medical/surgical residency training, specialised nursing and allied health education, with focus on SHIM.

We plan to launch the e-health systems which is about 60% completed to shorten clinical decision time, improve clinical services, support data quality and research, among other benefits.

Our leadership will continue to be characterized by an unyielding commitment to BUTH’s vision of excellence in healthcare service delivery, training, and research; uphold virtue of merit-based recruitment; swiftly address challenges as they come; and further strengthen hospital’s administrative and oversight functions by empowering Hospital Quality Assurance Committee/ SERVICOM and also by engendering financial reforms.

CONCLUSION

Our Administration modest success can only be attributed to God. I sincerely acknowledge the cooperation of the Management team (Principal Officers, Top Management Team, Heads of Departments and Units); the support of our dedicated staff and the collaboration of all our stakeholders. The truth is that God blessed our hospital with vibrant stewards who are not working for food but for Him. Many staff members are Missionaries with diverse calling. They are the pillars behind BUTH effective healthcare service delivery, training and research, for “a tree cannot make a forest”.

I extend deep gratitude to our sister institution, Bowen University, Iwo for the constant support, and our father, Nigerian Baptist Convention for birthing BUTH and standing by us all the way. I also sincerely appreciate all members of BUTH Management Board under the able leadership of the Chairman, Deacon Professor Adekunle Dunmade, for the unwavering support, wise counsel and guidance we enjoyed throughout the year.

Finally, as we look unto God for greater grace in 2026, I want to appeal to all staff and students to give their full support to take our beloved teaching hospital to the promised land.

 

Samuel Adegoke

CMD,

BUTH, Ogbomoso.