Expert Urges Upgrade of Primary Healthcare Centres

A general health expert, Dr Donatus Akinyelure, has called for the upgrading of Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) to position them for essential health services.

Akinyelure made the call in an interview with the Newsmen on Thursday in Lagos.

He said that upgrading the services of the PHCs became necessary to reduce the workloads and the number of patients going to the secondary and tertiary health institutions.

He described PHC as the first level of contact at the community level with the health facilities, stressing the need for its optimal functionality.

According to him, the PHC is the fulcrum for a resilient health system and should be structured to be able to deliver services that will support the attainment of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and guarantee health security.

“The PHC is the entry point into the health care service delivery system where 80 per cent of the health issues should be sorted out, with basic care needs provided.

“As a gateway to accessing health services, the PHC should be designed to fit the purpose for proper functioning and operations to be prepared for the needs of the community where it is located.

“It should be a hub of positive interaction that gives hope and relieves anxieties and distress to whoever is there, whether as a caregiver or client/patient,” he said.

Akinyelure decried that the health sector lacked the needed trained community health workers for manning the PHCs.

He explained that PHCs should be linked to a secondary care facility for ease of referrals of cases requiring more expert attention.

The physician lamented that “almost all patients now go to the secondary and tertiary health institutions to access healthcare due to the incapability of the PHCs to handle health cases.”

“However, a recent report revealed that about 80 per cent of the over 34,000 PHCs in Nigeria are not functional.

“According to the report, most of the PHCs lack the capacity to provide essential healthcare services.”

He said there was a need to improve the involvement of communities with the primary health care system for accountability because, at the moment, it was lacking.

According to him, building local capacity and training healthcare workers is essential for delivering high-quality services at the primary level.

“This includes providing ongoing training, mentorship, equipment and support to ensure that healthcare workers have the skills and competencies needed to address the unique needs of their communities,” he said.

NAN/Wumi