Mirian Gom 
JOS, Nigeria – The National Trauma Centre Riyom has been established by the Federal Government as part of efforts to strengthen emergency healthcare services in Plateau State, alongside the deployment of 15 ambulances to improve access to life-saving medical care across urban and rural communities.
The Federal Government announced the upgrade of Riyom General Hospital to a National Trauma Centre on Monday during the launch of the National Emergency Medical Services and Ambulance System (NEMSAS) in Riyom, Plateau State.
Under the new arrangement, the hospital will operate as an outpost of the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), expanding specialised emergency and trauma care services in the state.
The intervention also includes the deployment of five conventional ambulance buses and 10 tricycle ambulances designed to provide emergency transportation in remote and hard-to-reach communities.
Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang, represented by Deputy Governor Josephine Piyo, described the initiative as a significant investment in emergency healthcare delivery and a major step towards reducing preventable deaths.
Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Kachollom Daju, who represented Coordinating Minister of Health Professor Muhammad Pate, formally announced the approval of the facility as the National Trauma Centre, Riyom.
She explained that the ambulances would operate under different components of NEMSAS, including PLASEMSAS, which provides free emergency transportation within Plateau State, and the Federal Tertiary Facility Pathway, through which vulnerable patients can receive up to 48 hours of free emergency treatment.
Another component, REST-M, she said, would focus on providing emergency transportation for pregnant women and newborns in rural communities.
Chief Medical Director of JUTH, Professor Pokop Bupwatda, said the new trauma centre would significantly reduce emergency response times by ensuring critically injured patients receive timely specialist care.
He pledged that the facility would operate 24 hours a day in line with the Federal Government’s emergency healthcare policy.
Plateau State Commissioner for Health Dr Nicholas Baamlong disclosed that the state’s emergency ambulance programme, launched in August 2025, had recorded more than 2,000 emergency patient transfers within six months, including 1,115 patients in Jos East and over 900 in Riyom.
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Hope Ajayi 
