Committee reads riot act to medical practitioners

Eromosele Ebhomele

It is no longer going to be business as usual in all medical centres in Lagos State as the chairman of the House Committee on Health in the state House of Assembly, Segun Olulade, has appealed to journalists to help expose hospitals where bad medical practices take place.

Olulade declared that the state government would no longer take it lightly with any medical professional indicted or found guilty of carelessness or complacency.

The committee chairman, who represents Epe Constituency 2, stated this at an end-of-year dinner he organised for correspondents of the House.

“We are aware of the nonchalant attitude of some doctors and nurses in the state, we will not tolerate that again. We are creating a zero tolerance for inefficiency in our health sector.

“We will ensure that everyone that lives in Lagos or has anything to do with the state has a qualitative healthcare. This is our vision and we will see it materialise.

“If you go to any of our hospitals and you see inefficiency and anti-people behaviour by any health worker, don’t hesitate to let me know about it so that we can take actions.

“We will perform our oversight functions, visit all the health centres and hospitals in Lagos State. We want to have a turn-around in the sector and efficiency that is not common in this part of the world,” he said.

A non-governmental organisation recently protested to the state House of Assembly, accusing some hospitals in the state, including a hospital in the Alimosho area of the state, of nonchalance leading to the death of patients.

The protesters cited the case of a woman who died after giving birth to a baby inside his husband’s car at the hospital after health professionals refused to attend to her. Her baby also died.

Olulade said in response, the committee has commenced investigation into the incident.

“We have called the state Commissioner for Health, we have listened to the non-governmental organisation that led the protest and we are calling on other stakeholders to assist us; we are working on the issues raised in the protest.

“We will swing into action soon and visit some of the hospitals in the state and those who are not serious about being health providers should find their way out of the sector.

“I want to seek your partnership and support. Healthcare is what we cannot joke about, it is our collective responsibility and all hands must be on deck.

“The governor is committed to this, members of the state executive council and the Lagos State House of Assembly are committed to this. We would ensure that there is efficiency in our health system,” he added while stressing that his committee would focus on reducing child and maternal mortality rate, monitor services being rendered by health workers, control of HIV/AIDS, diabetes, cancer and such other ailments.