Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), has pledged to support initiatives aimed at increasing middle management surgical capacity across West Africa sub-region.
According to him, such increase in trained middle management surgeons would stem capital flight as a result of people seeking treatment abroad from the sub-region.
Governor Fashola, who spoke when he hosted Council Members of the West African College of Surgeons who paid him a courtesy visit at the Lagos House, Alausa, said the objective of such initiative would be to keep the people within the sub-Region whenever there was a need for any surgical intervention.
He told the Council members led by the College President, Professor Herve Yangni- Angate, “I believe that the objective which you have so clearly articulated, is to keep our people, at the very worst, within the sub-region whenever there is a need for any surgical intervention. I believe it is realizable in a very short term”.
“I think that I can say, on behalf of our Government, that we welcome the initiative to increase middle management surgical capacity across the sub-region and whatever support that we can give in terms of the expeditious consideration of the processes as you have requested be sure that I will give them as soon as I become aware of what needs to be done and where the processes lie”, the Governor said.
Fashola noted that the State Government has invested much in the health sector to achieve the same objective, saying, “So we see you as worthy partners. We have built all the hospitals, almost, built all the health facilities. But, truth be told, hospitals don’t treat. It is very good health workers who do. So we welcome that”.
“Some of the things we have done here at the local level is try to re-awaken the primary healthcare system. We are committed to ensuring that at least every one of our 57 local governments has a 24-hour functional primary healthcare system. We have started six, we just opened the sixth one last week”, he added.
He said the objective was to disaggregate the pressure on doctors in secondary and tertiary health institutions by categorizing the health challenges that could be taken to directly to secondary and tertiary hospitals and those to be treated at the primary healthcare level.
“Sometimes you hear that doctors see 50 to 60 patients a day, it is because all of the patients go to one place. If we make the local area where we can deal with Malaria, deal with Tuberculosis, HIV Screening, Antenatal care, regular checkups, simple surgeries, cuts and bruises at the local level. I think we would have really disaggregated the pressure”, the Governor said.
According to him, “Once we stabilize, we are now going to make access to secondary facilities dependent on referrals. So, if they don’t refer you, then you must go back and start from the bottom of the ladder except, of course perhaps, emergencies and life-threatening situations”.
Governor Fashola hinted on the plan of his administration to open up the idle capacity existing in the Private Sector through the use of health insurance explaining that with the introduction of health insurance, the capacity of the people to pay for treatments would increase leading to a growth in the sector.
“In that way, I think, doctors and health practitioners across the board will ultimately be the beneficiaries of this, because I reckon that there is a lot of idle capacity there and it is because people can’t pay. But if you put insurance as a boost, it will help people to pay for treatments”, the Governor said.
Earlier, in his opening remarks, the College President, Professor Yangni-Angate paid glowing tribute to Governor Fashola for the tremendous achievements of his administration in the last six years saying it was an indication of his concern and care for the citizens of the State.
The President, who said the Governor was the first Governor of the State to grant the College Council the request for a courtesy visit, requested for a place where the College could build facilities for training of surgeons to help address the manpower shortage in the health sector within the sub-region adding that it would also enable the college address the problem of accommodation. He later presented a book on the history of the 50-year-old institution to the Governor.
Also present at the occasion were the Deputy Governor, Hon.(Mrs.) Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, Secretary to the State Government, Dr. (Mrs.) Oluranti Adebule, Head of Service, Mrs. Oluseyi Williams, Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris and his Information and Strategy, Special Duties and Physical Planning and Urban Development counterparts, Mr. Lateef Ibirogba, Dr. Wale Ahmed and TPL Olutoyin Ayinde as well as Special Adviser Public Health, Dr. (Mrs.) Yewande Adesina on the Government side while the College President was accompanied by his immediate predecessor, Professor (Mrs.) Subomi Ogedengbe, College Registrar Dr. Adedayo Adewunmi and a Past General Secretary and Council Member, Professor Clement Emeka Nwawolo among others.
