Oyo to sanction doctors that register hospitals by proxy

Oyo State government has issued an ultimatum to medical doctors that register hospitals by proxy to refrain from such act, saying this was promoting quackery and henceforth warned that defaulting doctors stand being sanctioned.

Commissioner for Health, Dr Azeez Adeduntan stated this when he led the Oyo State Task Force on Private Health Facilities to monitor private hospitals and medical laboratories  in Ibadan.

The task force had sealed seven health facilities in Moniya and a medical diagnostic centre at Apete for failing to meet the basic requirements to practice, including failure to register.

They included Abaramu Mission Home, Moniya; Orelope Maternity and Child Welfare, Moniya; Folayo Maternity and Child Welfare, Moniya and Moyosore Clinic and Maternity, Moniya as well as Bam Medical Centre, Apete.

Adeduntan declared that hospitals that employ quacks as nurses or community health extension workers were also going to be sanctioned.

The Health Commissioner, who warned that Oyo State was no longer a safe haven for medical quackery, declared “we will make sure the healthcare system in the state is sanitised. We will pursue any doctor that registers somebody that is not qualified because they are killing our people.

“We are not fighting anybody, but safeguarding the health of our people and we will be going round the state to ensure this.”

Adeduntan, who noted that even a trained doctor could be a quack when he carries out any procedure that he was not trained for, declared that his ministry was inundated by appeals and petitions saying people are dying from malpractices.

Adeduntan stated that it is now also mandatory that all health workers receive yearly continuous medical education points before they can be licensed to practise in the state.

Meanwhile, the commissioner urged people to avail themselves of free blood pressure checks at the state Ministry of Health and all government hospitals in the state, saying uncontrolled blood pressure is now killing many people.

In addition, as part of efforts to improve health of Oyo State citizenry, he announced the state government’s mobile clinics commencing healthcare delivery at the grassroots to ensure healthcare is delivered at people’s door steps.