Oyo State government has threatened to shut private health facilities operating with unqualified personnel in the state.
The commissioner for Health, Dr Oluwaserimi Ajetunmobi stated this at a meeting with the executives of Clinics and Maternity Proprietors and Proprietress Association of Nigeria (CAMPPAN), Oyo State branch and other stakeholders in the private healthcare industry, held at the Conference Room of the ministry.
According to her, valuable lives were constantly being lost to quackery practices, hence the need to call the relevant bodies into order for proper regulations among their members..
The commissioner reiterated that hospitals without qualified personnel constitute a danger to the society. Therefore, any private hospital operating in the state without qualified personnel will be shut down.
Ajetunmobi explained that hospital owners who are not in the medical line must have a qualified doctor on the ground with an up-to-date Annual Practicing License and other staff must also have their registration up to date.
She noted that anyone practicing with an expired license was regarded as a quack, saying such hospitals will not be spared from the wrath of the government.
The commissioner equally urged the private hospital owners to stay within their limits, adding that going beyond their scope and jurisdiction is also a form of quackery practice that is strongly frowned upon.
“Clinics are not meant for admission of patients but for observation and onward referrals, they should not do the work of hospitals,” she added.
In his remarks, the permanent secretary, Oyo State Ministry of Health, Dr Akintunde Ayinde reiterated that the quality of health treatment received by the people is paramount to the government; therefore, the people establishing hospitals without the appropriate qualifications will face appropriate sanction.
Akintunde urged relevant bodies to work with the government to fish out the bad eggs among them to reduce quackery and malpractices in the state.
