Paediatrics & Neonatology

The department of Paediatrics has been in existence since the inception of Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Bida, in 1997.
The department has four Service Delivery Units namely; Emergency Paediatric unit, Paediatric ward, Neonatal intensive care unit and specialist clinics. Presently the department has 8 Consultants (two on visiting appointment), 4 Senior Registrars, 8 Registrars, 6 House Officers, 45 Nurses, and 20 Health Assistants. There is a Departmental residency committee headed by one of the Consultant in the department.
The hospital has a residency training committee. This committee coordinates residency training centrally and collaborates with the hospitals Human Resource Development Unit (HDRU) in coordinating the training needs of the entire staff, Consultants and Residents. Residents are sponsored for update courses / workshops as well as for examinations. They also benefit from in-hospital seminars usually organized by the HDRU unit.
Residency training started in the hospital in 2003, accreditation for the Postgraduate College has been obtained by the departments of Family Medicine, Surgery, Radiology, Obstetrics and Gynaecology. The department of Paediatrics, Federal Medical Centre, Bida obtained its first accreditation in 2010; a full accreditation from the West African College of Physicians and a partial accreditation from the National Postgraduate College. Since then the department has produced 3 Consultants and 9 Senior Registrars. The department presently has a full accreditation with the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria with effect from November 2020.

ORGANIZATION OF THE DEPARTMENT

A Consultant Paediatrician is the head of department who coordinates the activities of department.  The department currently runs a five unit sub-specialization system. Presently the subsisting units include Teams A, B and C representing Cardiology and Pulmonary, Nephrology and Neurology as well as Infectious disease and Oncology respectively. Additional units for Neonatology and Emergency Paediatric Unit also subsist. Each of the Sub-specialty unit is headed by at least one Consultant Paediatrician with bias for the sub-specialty. General Paediatric cases and other cases are seen by all teams based on their call schedule. Residents rotate through the units at 3 month interval and ensure exposure to each of the units in line with the College requirement.  

ACTIVITIES 

• Outpatient Care: The department runs specialized outpatient clinics on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 8:30am to 2:00pm.
• Details of this outpatient clinics are:

Tuesday: 1. Cardiology and Respiratory clinic.

Thursday: 1. ART clinic.

2.     Well child clinic.

Friday:  1. Neonatal clinic

   2, Haemato-oncology clinic.

3. Nephrology and Neurology clinic. 

Each of the clinic is supervised by a Consultant and residents rotate through the clinic. The clinics are held at the Multi-clinic complex of the hospital and the Community Health unit of the hospital.

Inpatients Care

• Emergency Paediatric unit (EPU) serves as entry points for all Peadiatric emergencies outside the neonatal period. The unit provides 24 hours service and is manned by one of the units consisting of a Consultant, Senior Registrar, 2 Registrars and house officers. The unit has a 17 bed capacity (3 of which are resuscitation couches)
• Paediatric medical ward: All Paediatric admission other than acute emergencies are cared for in the Paediatric medical ward. The ward has a 22 bed capacity and an occupancy rate of >90% at most times. The ward is shared with Paediatric Surgical patients with a mutual agreement of equal bed sharing ratio.
• Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU): the unit admits all neonatal emergencies as well as neonates in need of medical and surgical care. The unit has 17 baby cots, 6 incubators and 4 resuscitation beds. All high risk deliveries are attended to by Paediatric doctors. The unit also has a small side laboratory.                 
• Side laboratory: there is a functional side laboratory attached to the emergency paediatric unit. Base line investigation such as packed cell volume, urinalysis, blood sugar and malaria parasites are done routinely. There is a Laboratory Technician attached to the unit who is available during working hours while the Residents and House officers carry out the investigations during call hours.
• Nutrition Unit: The department has a nutrition unit that plays a key role in the management of patients with severe acute malnutrition. The unit is manned by 2 trained nurses and supervised by one of the Consultants.
• Paediatric ECG unit: The unit is under the supervision of one the department’s Consultants. The unit also has a mobile Echocardiography machine. It is readily available for diagnosing children with cardiovascular and related conditions.

LIST OF DEPARTMENTAL CONSULTANTS AND AREA OF INTEREST