Lagos — Lagos State government is to embark on the construction of more hospitals across the metropolis as part of the strategies to improve its health sector.

State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Leke Pitan who gave a brief of the year 2004 activities of his ministry and his plans for the year 2005, at the weekend revealed also that all local government areas in the state will be empowered to give free medical services to the grass roots.

"You will agree with me that the strike embark upon by doctors in federal hospitals has placed enormous stress on our facilities. We want to cushion effects of such action. This could only happened through more hospitals", he said, while also stressing that management of such hospitals have changed to make them semi-autonomous.

Among the year 2004 programmes expected to be expande, include immunisation campaign, open heart surgery and rehabilitation of polio victims through corrective surgery. There is also the blood screening certification programme, a project that has helped the state health ministry to ensure that all blood to be given to patients are sreened and certified to be free from deadly diseases like HIV/AIDS, Hepitites B, among others.

On the blindness prevention programme, the commissioner said over 300,000 people were screened last year and test done on five to six thousands free of charge.

"We are also active in the area of cancer. Over 3,000 were operated free of charge on breast cancer, malformed system or organ. All these programmes are to ensure that the ordinary man in the street has access to improved health care services", he said.

He further said that the state government has opened Critical Centre to take care of those with heart related problem recently.

"This is multi-purpose. It is no longer a Cardiac centre but critical to accommodate other emergencies. We want to give the ordinary man the hope of survival. So, all the equipment to maintain such survival has been put in place, to measure heart beat, pulse, among others", he further said, revealing that the state government will soon inaugurate private board to oversee the project.

On HIV/AIDS, he said, the state government has expanded existing voluntary counselling centres (VCT) to respond to all the local government areas.

Accordingly, he said, the state now has 13 centres, the highest in across the nation.

"Before now, there were only four across the nation. three Lagos, one in Kano. We now have 13 in Lagos alone. Lagosians can now move to any centre nearest to them for their test", he advised.

Pitan explained that, a Bill to give more dignity to patients has reached advanced stage at the State House of Assembly.

"The patient is now the king. The Bill has passed through several readings and stakeholders have had the opportunity to make their imput", he said, while also revealing that more hospitals were to be established across the nooks and crannies of the state.