The Lagos State Government has concluded arrangements to clamp down on 68 health institutions in the state that have been operating below prescribed standards.
The decision was the outcome of a recent assessment carried out by an inspection agency set up by the state government.
The Lagos State Ministry of Health recently set up the Health Monitoring and Accreditation Agency to assess and inspect facilities of health institutions in the state if they were up to the standards prescribed by law.
Briefing Sunday Punch on the outcome of the exercise, the Assistant Chief Public Relations Officer of the ministry, Sina Thorpe said the inspection carried out revealed that many of the health facilities in the state were operating below standards, hence the decision by the government to close them down.
He said, “The agency for the past couple of months has embarked on monitoring and inspection of health facilities. The monitoring done so far has revealed that some of them operate below standards; and about 68 of them are already slated for closure.”
He said the health sector reform law of 2006 spelt out criteria for setting up private heath institutions in the state.
He revealed that most of the health institutions slated for closure were not duly registered.
He said it was an offence for anybody to open a health facility in Lagos State without registering it and ensuring that they have qualified personnel and adequate facilities. He said such hospitals must meet the minimum health requirements in terms of environment and standard.
He declined to mention the names of the affected hospitals but said they were lacking in adequate medical facilities needed for medical investigation and diagnosis.
Some of these facilities are: diagnostic facilities and health equipment. These hsopitals were also lacking in minimum sanitation standard and staff complement.
Sep302007