Adekunle Johnson writes that there is no room for quackery in the state
It was recently in the news that the Lagos Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency (HEFAMAA) shut down 20 health faci lities in the state in January for non-compliance with regulatory standards. The Executive Secretary of the agency, Dr Abiola Idowu, disclosed this in a statement by the Lagos State Ministry of Health on Sunday, February 23, 2020.
Warning that the state would not tolerate illegal practices, Idowu said: “health security is an integral part of public security which is the primary duty of the government.”
She also urged Lagosians to report owners of dubious health facilities to relevant government agencies.
“I advise Lagosians to be cautious and desist from patronising uncertified service providers and if you suspect a foul play or notice illegal operations in your community, do not hesitate to contact HEFAMAA for prompt action,” she said.
The dangers of quackery in the healthcare sector can never be over-emphasised because of sanctity of human life. In February, Alex Ogbonna, an undergraduate at the Federal University of Gombe, died as a result of anaesthesia complications when a dental therapist who passed himself off as a dental surgeon gave Ogbonna a ‘wrong injection.’
The President, Nigerian Dental Association, Dr. Evelyn Eshikena, said that Ogbonna died as a result of irresponsibility on the part of the dental therapist. “We can confirm that the anaesthesia was administered by a dental therapist who ordinarily was not qualified to administer such treatments,” she said. “The dental team comprises dental surgeons (doctors) and other support staff like the therapists, technologists and nurses. All have their specific job descriptions and are not expected to overstep their line of duties. Anaesthesia is a procedure that should only be administered by qualified dental surgeons. “Alex lost his life due to a failure in our health system. Reports reaching us suggest that the dental surgeon attached to that hospital was on leave. The therapist saw the gap and decided to overstep, an action we strongly frown against.”
In March 2019, Lagos State closed a private clinic, HJ Clairoowen Medical Centre, located in Egbeda, Lagos. The reason was that Taye Adetunji, a 15-month-old baby, had died there during a blood transfusion. According to a report, the referral was by a paediatrician at the General Hospital, Igando, whose name was given as Dr. Joy. It was alleged that this was because of lack of bed space at the public hospital. The child’s parents, Mr and Mrs Adeola Adetunji, said that Dr. Joy said the baby needed blood and oxygen urgently.
In a statement, the Director, Public Affairs, Ministry of Health, Mrs. Adeola Salako, said: “For the purpose of clarity, it is important to mention that safety of lives and the well-being of citizens is of utmost importance to the Lagos State government and as such the avoidable death of 15-month-old baby Taye Adetunji is regrettable.” She went on to say that the private hospital was not registered and urged Lagosians to watch out for signage of HEFAMAA certification.
“We advise the public not to patronise any health facility not bearing the HEFAMAA logo and to channel complaints and petitions in respect of unprofessional conducts by healthcare providers or health facilities to the HEFAMAA Office, Ministry of Health, Alausa, Ikeja,” she said. “We wish to also note that it is against the norm and highly unethical for general hospitals or any government health facility to refer patients or cases to private health facilities. The public is, therefore, to take note of this and report any health worker or government facility that indulges in this unprofessional act.”
In October 2019, a 56-year-old man, Salahueen Jamiu, posing as a doctor conducted an illegal abortion that resulted in the death of Kehinde Olakitan. The incident happened at his ‘clinic’, Mojisola Maternity Clinic, at Onipanu, Ogun State. Of course, he was arrested. But this was after Kehinde died. According to the police reports, Jamiu “confessed that he was not a trained medical doctor, and that he learnt the practice from the street.”
In 2016, a man, Opeyemi Adesina, was caught impersonating as a consultant gynaecologist with the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH). When he was arrested, Adesina had in his possession seven forged certificates. LUTH disowned him, but Adesina had masqueraded as a doctor to unsuspecting patients.
Healthcare is important to human life and lip service must not be paid to it. Already, Nigeria is in short supply of medical workers and the ugly trend is that the little number of doctors the country produces quickly find their way outside the shores of the country. There is an awful disparity in the doctor-patient ratio in the country.
