FCT medical directors seek inclusion in policy process

The Guild of Medical Directors (GMD), Federal Capital Territory chapter, has called on the Federal Government to include private healthcare providers in the policy making process.

Chairman of the Branch, Dr. Chito Nwana, made the call yesterday during the annual general meeting of the guild in Abuja.

She said government should bring the providers to the table when it made policies because private healthcare providers attended to more than 70 per cent of the population.

She also said no good policy could be made without involving the people that delivered the services.

While calling on government to make healthcare a priority, she said the populace should also show more interest in what happened in the health sector.

Medical Director, Nisa Premier Hospital, Dr. Joshua Ofoli, called on government to create an enabling environment for private medical practitioners so that the populace could have confidence in them and access treatment.

The consultant family physician said healthcare financing was still a major challenge and that government had not provided the enabling environment for private healthcare providers to thrive.

He said there were no subsidy regimes for healthcare and that it was difficult for healthcare providers to access funds from banks and other financial institutions, adding that the populace also did not have adequate support in form of insurance, and so paid out of their pockets.

Immediate past National President of the Guild of Medical Directors (GMD), Dr. Tony Philips, called for an end to the multiple taxation of members of the guild, saying it was weighing them down and affecting healthcare delivery.