LASHMA, PharmAccess Sign Contract To Implement SafeCare Standards Among Healthcare Providers 

Over the years, the quality of healthcare available to patients in low‐ and middle-income countries (LMICs) has increasingly deteriorated. According to the Lancet Commission on Health, deaths attributable to poor quality of care has eclipsed those resulting from suboptimal access to service delivery, implying that quality healthcare is overly critical to achieving universal health coverage (UHC).

To actualize the Lagos State Government’s mission to ensure equitable access to quality care for all residents, the Lagos State Health Management Agency (LASHMA) on Friday, August 5th, 2022, signed a contractual agreement with the PharmAccess Foundation to adopt SafeCare standards for quality improvement in health facilities under the Lagos State Health Scheme.

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Under this agreement, PharmAccess Foundation will support 220 public and private health providers within the Lagos State Health Scheme to improve the quality and safety of healthcare services using the internationally accredited SafeCare quality improvement methodology.

Indeed, LASHMA’s leadership and investment in the implementation of quality improvement methodologies by private hospitals and benchmarking the quality of care in Lagos State is unprecedented. This will foster better health outcomes and satisfaction with the quality of services among Ilera Eko enrollees.

This builds on a decade of collaboration between the Lagos State Ministry of Health and PharmAccess Foundation on the adoption and implementation of SafeCare standards in all General Hospitals (GHs) and some primary healthcare centers (PHCs) in the State.

During the signing ceremony, the General Manager of LASHMA, Dr. Emmanuella Zamba noted that “the implementation of SafeCare standards across all health facilities is in line with the Agency’s mandate to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Lagos State, by improving key health indices through quality healthcare delivery.

“While we are working hard to ensure more Lagosians are enrolled in the Scheme and more healthcare providers empaneled, we want to reinforce our achievements so far by ensuring that every resident of this great State enrolled on the health insurance scheme, irrespective of their location and status, can enjoy the highest attainable standard of health.”

The Country Director PharmAccess Foundation, Ms. Njide Ndili, commended the LASHMA management for investing in technical assistance to institutionalize quality in the LSHS network of health facilities, especially private health providers.

“The Lagos State Health Scheme (LSHS) Quality Improvement Program will help the State achieve distinction in healthcare services delivery and elevate the impact of the scheme. This program will explore different dimensions of quality, employ best practices, and SafeCare’s proven technical approach to guarantee systemic results across the whole spectrum of the LSHS network,” Njide said.

The SafeCare standards and quality improvement methodology was created by PharmAccess Foundation, Joint Commission International (JCI), and the Council for Health Service Accreditation (COHSASA) in 2011. It is the first internationally accredited standard designed for healthcare facilities in resource-restricted settings, including Sub-Saharan Africa.

The formal signing ceremony held at the Lagos State Management Agency (LASHMA) office in Alausa, Ikeja. In attendance were key members of LASHMA leadership notably: Dr Emmanuella Zamba, LASHMA General Manager; Dr Oluwafemi Serrano, Head of Operations, LASHMA; and Adetoro Tayo-Adetoro, Monitoring and Evaluation Manager, LASHMA. PharmAccess Foundation was represented by Njide Ndili, the Country Director; Dr. Ibironke Dada, SafeCare Director; and Dr. Adetayo Adewoyin, Quality Manager.