Lagos sacks 42 health workers over negligence

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8 years ago

LAGOS State government said on Thursday that it has sacked 42 health workers over negligence of duties in the last two years.

Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris, made the disclosure while briefing newsmen at the Bagauda Kalto Press Centre, Alausa, Ikeja, saying the government was looking into the issue of negligence to ensure that residents received effective healthcare delivery.

He, however, said more health workers were employed, including 70 additional resident doctors recruited Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), which he disclosed received awards as Tertiary Healthcare Provider of the year from the Global Health Project in 2016, and the World Quality Award 2016 in the Gold category by the Business Initiative Directions (BID).

The commissioner said the government had engaged Civil Society Organisation to help monitor the various government health facilities concerning poor attitude to work, declaring that the government remained committed to ensuring effective health care services in the state.

He said this had ensured that many people from neighbouring states now run down to Lagos because of the facilities, promising that state government would continue to do all it could to enable residents enjoy good healthcare.

“The focus of this administration is to continue the upgrading and/or renovation of facilities at all levels of care, completion of ongoing projects, execute new ones where necessary especially in those areas where there are none, as well as their preventive maintenance.

“Some projects were awarded and executed during the period under review; ongoing projects were completed to boost infrastructural growth with continuous upgrading and renovation of facilities,” Dr Idris said.

He said the primary healthcare board procured and installed two walk in cold rooms for the cold chain store, and commissioned 14 renovated comprehensive PHCs, with procurement of medical and office equipment for 15 PHCs in the state.

He also informed that at total of 5,000 people benefited from Eko Club International Free Health Mission carried out across various Local Government and Local Council Development Areas.

“There is an ongoing Lagos State Free Health mission with a plan to visit all the 20 LGAs, 9 LGAs – Ojo, Badagry, Oshodi- Isolo, Amuwo- Odofin, Ajeromi, Apapa, Ikeja, Surulere and Mushin have been visited. So far, a total of 80,576 patients have been seen out of which 52,835 were attended to at the General Out Patients Department; 4,111 were screened at the dental unit, 6,668 were counseled and tested at the HCT Unit and 16,962 had their eyes screened out of which 10,745 were given glasses.

He said the ministry also carried out Health and Safety Program at Ikeja Motor Park in October, 2016, with a total number of 438 drivers screened using the breath analyzer test analysis in addition to other screening tests conducted.

The commissioner informed that the governor in the year under review approved the procurement of 10 new Mobile Intensive Care ambulances thereby expanding the state’s ambulance fleet from 23 to 33 in April 2016.

He added that the government also launched DVD to enlighten the public on Lagos State Emergency Response co-sponsored by Shell Petroleum Nigeria Exploration Company (SNEPCO) and Lagos State Government.