By Chinedu Okafor
The Lagos State Government has repurposed the long-abandoned ₦5.6 billion Cardiac and Renal Centre at Gbagada General Hospital into academic offices and tutorial lecture rooms, in a bid to tackle the acute shortage of healthcare professionals across the state.
In a statement signed by Tunbosun Ogunbanwo, Director of Public Affairs at the Lagos State Ministry of Health, the government explained that the conversion forms part of a broader strategy to expand medical education infrastructure and boost the training of doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and allied health workers.
The facility, originally commissioned in March 2015 under former Governor Babatunde Fashola to provide advanced treatment for kidney disease, had fallen into disuse and was later converted into an isolation centre during the COVID-19 pandemic. By late 2024, reports revealed the centre was overrun by weeds, with its 24 dialysis machines locked away while patients crowded the few government hospitals offering dialysis services.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has now approved a sweeping expansion plan that includes:
- The enlargement of Lagos State University College of Medicine (LASUCOM), Ikeja.
- The transformation of the CACOVID Isolation Centre at the Infectious Disease Hospital into large lecture theatres and multi-disciplinary laboratories.
- The conversion of the Gbagada Cardio-Renal Centre into academic offices and tutorial spaces.
According to the government, the initiative aims to scale up annual student admissions from 200 to 2,500 within five years, significantly increasing Lagos’ capacity to train healthcare professionals.
Speaking at the official handover, Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, stressed that Lagos faces a deficit of 30,000 doctors alongside shortages of nurses, pharmacists, dentists, and laboratory scientists. He described the expansion as a “two-pronged strategy” to mitigate the crisis: producing more healthcare professionals through increased student intake and ensuring adequate infrastructure for quality training.
The project will deliver:
- 1,600 additional lecture theatre seats
- 1,600 laboratory spaces
- 110 new offices for lecturers and academic staff
Prof. Abayomi assured that the Lagos State Infrastructure Asset Management Agency will oversee the construction to meet the highest standards, with commissioning of the facilities expected within four months.
“This ambitious expansion will not only support increased student intake but also strengthen Lagos’ credibility with accreditation bodies such as the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria and the National Universities Commission,” he added.
