24th May, 2021
Lagos State Health Commissioner, Professor Akin Abayomi, has said no fewer than 15,000 Lagos State health workers have undergone training.
Abayomi said the health workers have undergone various capacity building exercises including clinical and non-clinical training, seminars and continuous medical education (CME) programs geared towards improving efficiency, service delivery and client satisfaction at all levels of health care delivery.
Abayomi who disclosed recently at an annual ‘Ministerial Press Briefing’ organised to commemorate the second year anniversary of the Governor Sanwo-Olu led administration in the health sector stated that training and professional development of healthcare providers being the bedrock of qualitative healthcare service has been accorded the priority it deserves by the present administration.
He noted that State health workers through strategic training programs and engagements have been equipped with current information and skills to enrich qualitative and optimal health service delivery at all service points.
The Commissioner explained that selected health workers across all levels of the health care system in the State participated in a capacity building workshop on public-private partnership (PPP) held between 24th and 26th November 2020.
He added that the workshop was geared towards assisting them in developing knowledge and skills in basic concepts of PPPs in Health, applicable Government policies and legal framework for PPP in Health, Assessing Value for Money in PPPs for Health, design of Contracts and Memoranda of Understanding in PPPs and Cost of Service Studies and Tariff Setting.
According to Abayomi, other engagements and workshops conducted for health workers include; capacity Building of Health Workers from private and secondary health facilities on Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses (IMCI) and REW component; Maintaining infection, prevention & control measures within the clinical and non-clinical environment and public health strategies for the management and control of COVID-19 and the need for a strategic shift to Home Support Management.
“10 Continuing Medical Education (CME) sessions were conducted on the 7th October and 11th December 2020 on Improving Quality Healthcare Service Delivery during Public Health Crises and a total of 5,282 health workers participated via physical appearance and live webinar sessions.
“Also, 60 midwives were updated on current Advanced Life Saving Skills training manual developed by the Federal Ministry of Health to improve their knowledge and skills in Midwifery practice, the Directorate of Nursing is currently conducting Video Training (VTR) Mobile Learning application on devices consisting of nine modules for 400 Nurses and Midwives drawn from Public Health Institutions in Lagos State.
“The Ministry also conducted a Training of Trainers (TOT) residential workshop for all Human Resource for Health (HRH) Desk Managers and Senior Officers in the health sector to strengthen Human Resource Management, there were also capacity building sessions on Biosecurity and surveillance Public Health Professionals”, the Commissioner explained.
He added that the Health Service Commission trained 1,600 health workers on COVID-19 Infection Prevention and Control for over a six week period. Stressing that participants at the training included officers drawn from the state-owned secondary health facilities and healthcare volunteers from the private sector.
The Commissioner stated that the Health Service Commission also trained 500 medical personnel on Basic Life Support (BLS) and 200 others on Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS). He hinted that the trained participants received certificates from the American Heart Association.
“50 medical officers were admitted into Residency Training Program for Family Medicine, Paediatrics, Anaesthesia, and Obstetrics & Gynaecology and 10 medical officers commenced a fully sponsored training in anaesthesia at the School of Anaesthetic Studies, Badagry and 35 nurses were granted approval for speciality training in Accident & Emergency, peri-operative, ophthalmic and anaesthesia”, Abayomi said.
He noted that health workers at the primary health care level under the auspices of the Primary Health Care Board were trained on the Training of PHC Health Workers on emergency preparedness and infection prevention control in the health facilities, as well as, home-based care for COVID management in the last one year.
“4,000 Health Information Managers (HIM) in Public and Private Hospitals in the State were trained on the newly revised NHMIS tools which accommodate more indicators for more objective decision making and 500 Healthcare Professionals drawn from health sector were trained on Data Protection and Governance in compliance with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) on Nigerian Data Protection Regulation (NDPR)”, the Commissioner added.
Abayomi disclosed that over 1,200 medical professionals were recruited in the health sector to improve human resource for health and provide proactive human resources management service that will engender qualitative healthcare delivery.
He said, “A total of 944 health workers out of which 815 were core medical workers consisting of Consultants, Medical Officers, Pharmacists and Nurses were recruited by the Health Service Commission to improve service delivery and meet the health needs of Lagosians.
“338 health workers were also employed by LASUTH personnel via the Internship and exit replacement windows. Out of this number, 299 are core medical personnel”.
The Commissioner noted that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu led administration places priority on human capital development as well as infrastructural growth as a means of achieving its Health and Environment mandate of the THEMES agenda.
While assuring that the government remains committed to ensuring best practices in health care delivery across the State, Abayomi stated that the state government is also regulating the activities of Traditional Medicine practitioners and improving their capacity within their scope of practice.
“The Lagos State Traditional Medicine Board in keeping with its mandate to maintain a concise register, regulate code of conduct, train and ensure compliance to standard rules and regulations, monitor and license all practising Traditional Medicine Practitioners in Lagos State organised a mandatory orientation training for Traditional Medicine Practitioners, herbal product sellers and Traditional birth attendants”, he stated.
The Commissioner noted that increased investment in health over the years especially in the areas of human resource capacity development, medical infrastructure and implementation of the Lagos State Health Insurance Scheme and other aspects of Health affirms the commitment of the Sanwo-Olu led administration to the attainment of universal health coverage.
“There is still so much more to be done and the whole society including government, wider population, communities, and business organisations have shared interest and roles in the quest for efficient, equitable, affordable and accessible health care services for all”, Abayomi said.