Edo to cut medical tourism abroad

MOSHOD KARIM

Benin-City- Edo State Governor Comrade Adams Oshiomole says the state has put in place a holistic approach towards providing the needed remedies to the problems of the health sector in the state to significantly reduce medical tourism abroad.

          The governor who spoke through his deputy Hon. Dr. Pius Odubu at the 2015 Annual General Meeting and scientific Conference of the state branch of Nigeria Medical Association reiterated the commitment of the government to provision of affordable and qualitative health care system.

          According to him: “twenty of the state General Hospitals have been rehabilitated and completely refurbished. A state of the art hospital has also been constructed and commissioned at Ewohimi. This hospital is now functional, fully equipped with modern gadgets and government has also recruited the requisite manpower needed to render health care to the people”.

          He disclosed that the ongoing construction of the new Central Hospital Benin Complex has reached an advantaged stage and on completion, the necessary workforce would be employed to run a modern health institution of its kind.

          Oshiomole noted that with the coming into force of the National Health Act Signed into law in October, 2014 by the former President, the state has restructured and empowered the primary Health Care (PHC) department of the Ministry of Health to be able to carry out its functions.

          He explained that the bill for the establishment of the State Primary Health Care Development Agency that was passed by the last House of Assembly, when signed into law will greatly improve services at the primary health care level as it will afford the state the opportunity to bring all PHC activities under one roof.

          According to him “it will ensure better monitory of services, coordination as well as human and materials resources management. This will result in the optimization of care for the over 70% of our people who live in the rural areas and depend on the services at the PHCs for their health needs”. He furthered.

          The Governor described the theme of the conference as appropriate, adding that the topic discussed including: “The Nigerian Health sector; Burning Issues, the Way Forward’ is well chosen and would provide a veritable platform for the critical analysis of the health sector in Nigeria with particular emphasis on the Edo State with a view to proposing the needed strategies to address the issues identified.

          He urged the doctors to see strike as the last resort in pressing home their demands as many lives are at stake. He added that Edo State is committed to the welfare of health workers as the state is one of the first states in the federation to approve and implement the CONMESS/CONHESS   salary structure.

          Earlier in his remarks, chairman of the occasion, Chief Dr. David Edebiri appealed to the NMA to see strike as the last resort in pressing home their demands. He lamented that anytime he hears of strike by the NMA, it saddens him saying that he starts calculating the number of patients that are going to die.

          He urged doctors in the state to work with the government to improve the health sector.