Rivers State Boosts Healthcare as Fubara Commissions New Hospital, Revamped Mental Health Facility

Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara has commissioned a newly built General Hospital alongside a fully upgraded Neuropsychiatric Hospital at Rumuigbo in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, marking a significant investment in the state's health infrastructure.

Fubara explained that the project was born out of a routine inspection visit, during which he found the old mental health facility, originally established in 1970 and opened in 1977 with just 50 beds, in a state of disrepair and reportedly being exploited as a hotspot for drug trafficking. He ordered an immediate overhaul, resulting in a modern, secured, 100-bed rehabilitation centre for mental health and substance abuse patients, now fitted with an electroconvulsive therapy unit, ICT centre and a 216-bed hostel for students.

On the General Hospital, the governor noted that Obio/Akpor, despite being one of the state's most populous LGAs, previously relied solely on primary healthcare centres, forcing residents to travel to UPTH or Braithwaite Memorial Hospital for serious cases.

The new facility now offers accident and emergency care, an intensive care unit, a newborn ICU, maternity wards and a fully equipped operating theatre, according to the state's Permanent Secretary for Health, Dr Vincent Wachukwu. Both hospitals come with brand-new ambulances.

Fubara urged local residents and leaders to protect the facilities from vandalism, describing education, healthcare and housing as the three pillars of his administration's development agenda.

Outgoing NBA President Afam Osigwe, who performed the ribbon-cutting, praised the initiative and called on the public to stop stigmatising those who seek mental health treatment.

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