Doctors Begin Clampdown on Quacks, Illegal Medical Centres in Ekiti
The Nigerian Medical Association(NMA), Ekiti State chapter, has signed a pact with Ekiti State government for the introduction of accreditation of health facilities to fish out operators of illegal medical centres in the state.
The medical body regretted that the activities of some unregistered medical practitioners are affecting the medical practice in the state and denting the image of members, saying this must stop in the overall interest of health security of the residents of the state. NMA, which commended Governor Ayodele Fayose-led government for implementing the Consolidated Medical Salary Scale(CONMESS) for all categories of doctors in the state, however, lamented that the policy has not been beneficial owing to six month salaries owed the doctors .
The NMA’S Chairman in Ekiti, Dr. Sunday Omoya, said these at the weekend during a press conference on the just concluded 2017 Physicians’ Week and Ordinary General Meeting of the medical body held in Ado Ekiti between October 22 and 27.
During the programme, Omoya disclosed that 300 people were offered free medical treatments by doctors at Ipole Iloro in Ekiti West local government area of the State.
He said the body also held medical education for rural dwellers on dieting, hypertension , HIV/AIDS and other ailments ravaging the people at the grassroots.
Omoya said payment of salaries to workers and effective funding of the health institutions, particularly the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital(EKSUTH) will improve healthcare delivery and ensure the institution meets its core mandate in research and training.
“We have set up a committee to look into this issue of quackery. We have entered into agreement with the State government on this and that was why the government is doing the accreditation and re-registration of all health facilities.
“We are looking into the genuineness of any health facilities and whether it has not gone out of the scope for which it was registered. If you registered a maternity, or clinic or hospital, you can’t go beyond that scope but in Ekiti some maternity homes are performing surgeries and this was wrong and dangerous.
“We are assuring that any illegal health facility we discover will be closed down and the owner shall be prosecuted accordingly”, he warned.
Omoya commended the state government for being among the five states that met 70 per cent benchmark on immunization coverage.