The Ondo state Commissioner for Health, Dr Wahab Adegbenro, on Tuesday, disclosed that the state government has lost over $1.2million to inaccurate and falsification of data by some official of the government.
Adegbenro who disclosed this while declaring open a one-day training for Medical Record Officers of Secondary Health facilities in the state said the falsification of data has done a lot of damages on the image and reputation of the state.
He, however, stressed the need for Medical Record Officers to capture data accurately, saying this is one of the panacea towards reducing Maternal and Child Morbidity and Mortality
He said the training of the medical officers became imperative in order to educate them on how to enter date correctly just as he said it would go a long way to save more lives on the long run in the state.
He disclosed the training which will be in batches will be extended to private health facilities, noting that they account for about 25 per cent caregivers in the state and incorporating them into the system will give the state accurate data that can be used to achieve the desired reduction in Maternal and Child Morbidity and Mortality.
In her goodwill message, Mrs Margret Kuduyo of the Rotary Club International, sponsor and initiator of an e-platform for capturing medical data that is easily retrievable, commended Medical Officers in the state for doing a good job since the e platform was created.
He pledged the support of Rotary Club to always come to the aid of state whenever they are called upon.
The Director National population commission, Mr Oluyemi Falusi commended the government for the training which he said is key to the initiative, prays that it succeeds as it will help his commission to have an accurate record of maternal and perinatal deaths.
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The State Program Manager Saving One million lives for Results, sponsor of the training, Dr Abiola Oguneneka said reducing Maternal and Child Mortality and Morbidity is the whole essence of SOML so the training is very important to them as the success of the Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance Response will help SOML achieve its objectives.
Oguneneka appealed to Medical Record Officers in the state to improve medical record keeping and make sure they are up to date as there will soon be a national health facilities survey where medical records will be checked and the state will be paid if it performs well.
The State Desk Officer for Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance Response (MPDSR), Dr Olajumoke Aladenoola who did an overview or MPDSR and the objective of the training said the programme which started as confidential Inquiry into Maternal deaths in Ondo (CEMDOS ) is to identify the number of deaths, causes and provide information on how to prevent future occurrence.
She added that a bill was passed into law under last administration mandating all Health Facilities in the state to report all maternal deaths within 24 hours but which health facilities have failed to comply with.
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