Temitope Alonge, Professor and Chief Medical Director (CMD) of University College Hospital (UCH) Ibadan, is due to bow out of office on completion of his second term on 28 February, 2019.

The world renowned Consultant Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgeon had been at helm of affairs of UCH, Nigeria's first tertiary hospital, since March 2011 when he first assumed office for an initial term of four years. He was reappointed in 2015 for a second term following his satisfactory performance. His second term, now coming to a meritorious end, turned out to be even better and more rewarding for the hospital with a lot of transformational developments and record breaking achievements to show.

At the inception of his administration in March 2011, the agenda he set for himself with his declaration to ensure "the rebirth of excellence" in all operations of the hospital seemed herculean, if not nearly impossible, considering the then prevailing uncertainties and debilitating problems of the public health sector such as poor funding which remains a common obstacle to the development of all government owned tertiary hospitals in the country leading to infrastructure decay, low morale and disaffection of staff and frequent strike actions.

Undaunted, he promptly began to set up structures to deliver on the vision and, somehow, he began to surmount many of the challenges through creativity, support of management and staff who believed in the vision and with the help of God. Amazingly, within the first year of his administration, the hospital had made remarkable progress weighty enough to call for celebration.This was what led to the resumption of the celebration of the hospital's annual anniversary in 2012, five years after it was last celebrated in 2007.

And so in 2012, a year after he became CMD, UCH resumed the celebration of excellence for real. One of the high points of the 2012  anniversary celebration was the commissioning of an ultra modern Geriatric Centre for the care of the aged and senior citizens, the first of its kind in Nigeria and Africa. The Centre  up till now is the only Geriatric hospital in the African continent offering holistic care for senior citizens and the aged.The Geriatric Centre was named after late Chief Tony Anenih, an elder statesman and politician inspired by Alonge to build, equip and donate it to UCH.

Over 30,000 people have received treatment at the Centre in the last six years, which has enabled UCH  to develop expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of ageing related ailments and diseases. The hospital's expertise in Geriatric care was further enhanced with the addition of an ultra modern Geriatric Rehabilitation Centre built, equipped and donated by another Nigerian Philanthropist, Mr Kessington Adebutu in 2017. Today, UCH is a Centre of excellence in Geriatric Medicine.

Since the wind of transformation began to blow in the hospital from Alonge's first year in office, it has not stopped. It has swept through several areas of the hospital's operations resulting in the upgrading of several departments and units with the latest modern equipment and technology. It has manifested in the creation of new structures to promote efficiency. It evident in substantial investment on physical infrastructure, research, training and capacity development for staff and students to enhance their knowledge, skills and expertise. And it has also reflected in the provision of basic amenities for the comfort of the institution's community, patients and guests.

Some of the key transformational developments under the Alonge administration which have repositioned UCH as a Centre of Ecellence in health care delivery and the training of medical personnel include the upgrading of facilities for the treatment of heart related diseases and conditions. This entailed, among other things, the installation of a complete modern cardiology theatre, Intensive Care Unit and a Catheterization Laboratory (Cath-Lab) all parading the latest technology. The upgrade made it possible for UCH to perform the first open heart surgery in any Nigerian teaching hospital in 2013 and it has continued to perform several successful heart surgeries year in year out.

Another giant stride was the upgrading of facilities for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer which included the acquisition  of state of the art cancer equipment such as Thermo graph and Mammogram machines, among others. In addition to these  facilities UCH has also  developed protocol for the treatment of all types of cancer using the precision medicine method. Furthermore, UCH is currently building a world class cancer centre modeled after the world's most experienced and oldest cancer institute called Rosswell  Park Cancer Centre in New York, USA.

Among other facilities modernized under Alonge's administration is the Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF) Centre to treat complex cases and reintegration of victims back to normal life in the society. Perhaps the most talked about is the development of the hospital's proficiency and expertise in Nuclear Medicine and Neurosurgery whereby it has been performing complex brain surgeries with the latest procedure and technology referred to as awake craniology in which the patient is awake and can even respond to questions from from doctors while the operation is being done.

With these giant strides there is no doubt that Alonge has taken UCH to greater heights and it can be safely concluded that he has substantially achieved his goal of the rebirth of excellence in the hospital.

A passionate advocate of reverse medical tourism, Alonge is ready to blow the trumpet that UCH has the expertise, latest equipment, technology and facilities (including ultramodern private suites for high profile patients)  to  successfuly treat Nigerians seeking medical treatment abroad for complex diseases and conditions.

Regrettably, the ethics of the medical profession does not allow him to advertise the competencies of the hospital.

The success story of Alonge would not be complete without mention of some of the enabling factors which helped propel his vision to actualization. Key among these are his creative embrace of the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model and his integrity which persuaded some of the nation's leading philanthropists, corporate bodies, international organizations and Federal Government (owner of the hospital) to support the lofty projects initiated by his administration.

• Folu Olamiti, Media Consultant, writes from Abuja.