Chioma Obinna
29 June 2009
Integration of the newly procured Field Hospital into the Lagos State Eko Free Health Mission is yielding fruis if the expression of less privileged Nigerians who converged at the premises of Araromi Primary School, Achakpo Road, Ajegunle in the Ajeromi/Ifelodun Local Government Area seeking for free medical services, was anything to go by last week.
For close to 5000 people present at the venue of the exercise, it was like a dream comes true as they benefitted from all kinds of surgeries and medical consultation at no cost.
The Field Hospital is in itself a standard hospital on wheels that can provide on-the-spot emergency service and relief management. Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris said the Field Hospital will compliment the Eko Free Health Mission by taking off the overwhelming pressure on the hospitals/venues where the Free Health Missions are held without disrupting the day-to-day regular hospital operation
Idris said the field hospital also has capacity to undertake different types of surgeries, noting there are six basic components of the Field Hospital which include a standard theatre coupled with six inflatable tents that serve as emergency/examination section amongst others, he said patients stressing that with the deployment of the Field Hospital, more people are therefore expected to benefit from the mission.
The Commissioner noted that the quest to find ways to take health care to the grassroots and under-served areas of the State led to the introduction of the Eko Free Health Mission adding that the Mission is a comprehensive heath care initiative that covers primary, secondary and tertiary levels of prevention.
He said the mission is significant because it will assist the state government in its efforts to bring to the barest minimum, the number of untimely death in the State particularly as the beneficiaries of the programme include the most vulnerable part of the population at the grassroots like the elderly, children, youth and pregnant women who are prone to infections and other related disease related to maternal and child health.
Idris added that the mission will also supplement the state government's formal health structures at the grassroots level as well as provide alternative avenues of providing secondary medical care to the ailing within its time frame of operation adding that to sustain and improve on the initiative, government is partnering with Health and Mission International, a Non_Governmental Organisation, to conduct a bulk purchase of health programme whereby free health care would be taken to the doorsteps of the citizenry at no cost to them.
Flagging - off the health mission, Governor, Babatunde Fashola, noted: "Part of our strategies this time is to educate the people on the need to take their health seriously, immunise their children, why they should go for medical check up at all time and the need for better nutrition."
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