Lagos State shuts 13 hospitals, intensifies hunt for quackery

Lagos State Government, yesterday, made it known that it has shut no fewer than 13 health facilities across the state as it vowed to clampdown on more hospitals not complying with regulatory standards, in order to guarantee safety of residents’ lives.

New Telegraph reports that HEFAMAA’s executive secretary, Dr. Mabel Adjekughele, while speaking at the 8th stakeholders’ meeting of the Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency (HEFAMAA) activities, held at the Lagos State Secretariat, Alausa, said that of the 463 health facilities inspected by the agency, 13 of them were shut over non-compliance with the regulatory standard.

She disclosed that a number of petitions received by the agency has also increased to 22, attributing the rise in the petitions to increased awareness among the residents and the demand for quality health services by the health care providers.

HEFAMAA boss, who urged the residents to assist the government by exposing other substandard facilities, explained that facilities were shut as a result of quackery practice, unqualified, uncertified personnel and practising beyond schedule.

Harping on the agency’s achievements, Adjekughele said that in the face of seeming insurmountable challenges, the agency had been able to detect fake medical personnel certificates through verification by the professionals regulatory bodies, reduce quackery as well as sanctioning erring facilities through fines and setting time frame for improvement.

New Telegraph also reports that the Special Adviser to the Governor on Primary Health Care, Dr Olufemi Onanuga said that the health facilities monitoring would be intensified by the agency with a view to possibly eradicating quackery in the state.

“There is HEFAMAA law that will be used against any facilities with quackery, we can’t condone that in Lagos,” Onanuga said.

Source: New Telegraph