The Chief Medical Director, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Dr Wasiu Adeyemo, has called for establishment of more public hospitals across states of the federation, to decongest the tertiary health institutions.
Adeyemo made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos.
According to Adeyemo, the few existing ones are not enough to cater for the teaming population of the country.
He decried the population of patients and workloads at the hospital, saying that not all health conditions were meant to be handled at the tertiary health institutions.
He frowned at the operations of the Secondary Healthcare facilities and Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs), adding that most of them were not living up to the expectations.
He explained further that they often pushed health conditions that were ordinarily supposed to be handled at their levels to the tertiary healthcare institutions.
Adeyemo blamed the situations for the crowding of the tertiary health facilities by patients, which often resulted to lack of bed spaces.
“It is not all health cases are supposed to be handled at the tertiary healthcare level.
“Normally, every health conditions are supposed be first treated at either the secondary healthcare level or PHCs as the case maybe, then, if need be, it would be referred to the tertiary level.
“Unfortunately, most of these health cases are being dumped on us at the tertiary level to handle.
“And the worst aspect of it, is that majority of the cases usually come in without pre-notification or contact with the hospital to ascertain its preparedness to mange the situation.
“In as much as we are tertiary health institution, there is limit to what we can do considering the number of facilities and personnel on ground.
“In a situation where patients on admission are occupying the available beds and facilities; the hospital may not be able to take referred patients who are coming without any notification.
Adeyemo, therefore, emphasised the need for hospitals including secondary and primary health facilities to always notify the tertiary hospitals before referring patients.
According to him, this is necessary to guarantee preparedness of the tertiary hospital to receive the patient, and apparently make arrangements for bed space even if the existing ones are occupied.
Contributing, a public health physician, Dr Adebayo Ogba, blamed crowding of the tertiary health facilities by patients on the general Nigerian mentality and belief that best healthcare services could only be obtained at the tertiary health institutions.
Ogba added that most patients ordinarily would go to the tertiary health facilities to seek care without any form of presentation at either the secondary or PHCs.
He noted that quality healthcare services were possible even at the PHCs, explaining that equipping the secondary health facilities and PHCs with adequate manpower, resources and equipment were key to decongesting the tertiary health facilities.
He emphasised the need for sensitisation, education and reorientation of the populace to change their mindsets and belief toward the PHCs.
He said, “An old established norm takes time to change. The fact that many Nigerians already believed that best healthcare is only obtainable at tertiary health institutions, can be changed with time.
“If the PHCs should be up and running efficiently, with little awareness, education and sensitisation campaign, people’s orientation toward PHC will change and they will start patronising it as supposed.
“This will invariably reduce the population and workload on the secondary and tertiary healthcare facilities,” he said. (NAN)
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