Mansur Oladunjoye
6 November 2009
Lagos State governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, weekend, flagged off a 3-day Mini-Health Mission in three local government/local council development areas in the state with a resolve that Primary Healthcare will remain top priority of his administration.
The three local government/local council development areas were: Oshodi local government area, Ejigbo and Isolo local council development areas.
Governor Fashola, who was represented on the occasion by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Barrister Opeyemi Bamidele, said the resolution is as a result of his administration's recognition of Primary Healthcare as the entry point to the healthcare system in the state and in the country.
He lamented that over the years, Primary Healthcare centres in the country have suffered a major setback in their role as the entry point to the healthcare delivery system, adding that this has brought major decay and loss of confidence in the centres.
He said, "This administration cannot afford to allow this to continue as the healthcare of our people is top priority and it must be given the prime attention it deserves."
He listed some of the accomplished projects to include the renovation of the secondary healthcare facilities; building of maternal and child healthcare centres with facilities for both secondary and tertiary healthcare services; the continuous training of healthcare personnel at local and international levels and; the provision of free medical treatment for the vulnerable (destitute, aged and under-aged).
According to the governor, the state government also gives free treatment to patients with certain conditions like breast cancer, prostrate cancer, heart diseases, tuberculosis, kidney disease, leprosy and other diseases that would claim the lives of the patients prematurely.
He promised that the state will soon own its own Cardiac and Renal Centres so that travelling abroad for related ailments will be a thing of the past, adding, "These efforts need to be complemented by well grounded and functional Primary Healthcare Centres because these centres are the nearest healthcare centres to the people and they mark the beginning of a standard referral system in the health sector."
He said services expected at a standard Primary Healthcare Centre were: General Out-Patient services (General consultations and Drug prescription for minor ailments), Preventive Services (Antenatal care, Child Welfare clinic, Health Education, Family Planning, HIV Counseling, Hypertension and Diabetes screening and General Counseling), Basic eye screening, Laboratory services for basic investigations and referrals, all of which would be rendered in the three days the exercise would last.
The governor said so far 31 LGAs/LCDAs have been visited where reactivation process has commenced for the Primary Healthcare Centres, adding that statistics gathered so far reveals that over 106, 000 people have benefited from the medical consultations and treatments out of which 9, 373 people received free eye glasses while 5,425 were found to be hypertensive and 1, 442 diabetic.
He said over 50 per cent of the people diagnosed as hypertensive and those diagnosed as HIV positive were not aware that they had the disease, adding, "The benefit of this type of programme is that it creates opportunity for routine medical check-up especially to those who cannot afford such services."
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