Edo state seals 108 health facilities

The Edo State government on Thursday said it had sealed not less than 108 health facilities in the last six months for failing several quality assurance checks.

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The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Samuel Alli, who disclosed this at a press briefing on healthcare regulation in the state, said there were about 5,000 registered health facilities in the state.

He said the state government was creating a new digitised database for such facilities in the state for easy assessment and evaluation, noting that it would help check quackery in the state’s health sector and save the people from avoidable health challenges.

The commissioner added that some of the facilities were sealed because they were unregistered, practicing beyond the approved scope, and use of unqualified personnel.

He said that in a particular facility, the team members from the ministry were resisted by the owner because her spouse is a military personnel.

Alli said all those found to continue to contravene the government’s regulations after due warning would be prosecuted in court.

He said, “We have closed down 108 health facilities practicing beyond their scope after warning. Facilities especially guilty include pharmacies, medical laboratories, and nursing homes that with impunity deviate from their areas of practice.

“For example, we had community pharmacies masquerading as medical doctors and prescribing medications, patent medicine stores selling medicines beyond their scope, nursing homes conducting surgeries, and medical doctors and prescribing medications, patent medicine stores selling medicines beyond their scope, nursing homes conducting surgeries, and medical laboratories admitting patients for stabilisation.

“We have had instances where the spouse of the owner of a nursing home resisted sealing because he is a military personnel. We will use all our powers as a government to bring all offenders to book.

“Most of the health facilities engage unqualified personnel. We must reiterate that no qualified doctor is licensed to train nurses. No doctor should train a nurse. If you are interested in training nurses, seek the approval of relevant authorities to open a nursing school.

“We must reiterate that we no longer tolerate the use of unqualified nurses without the supervision of a qualified nurse. Using auxiliary nurses unsupervised is not acceptable. We want all auxiliary nurses certified. We acknowledge the brain drain syndrome leading to a dearth of nurses nationwide, but this does not justify suchmalfeasance.”

He said people should do the right thing in the new year because health of the people is paramount and of priority.

PUNCH/Wumi