In a bid to ensure standard practices among healthcare providers, Anambra State Government through the state Ministry of health on Wednesday, inaugurated Medical Support Services Monitoring, Enforcement Committee to end quackery in the system.
The event was held at the commissioner’s office at the Jerome Udoji Secretariat Complex, Awka.
The committee has as its members, Physiotherapists, Medical Laboratory Scientific Officers, Radiographers, Medical Record Officers, Dieticians, Dental Technologists and the Police force.
The terms of reference for the committee include moving out from time to time to monitor the activities of privately owned medical laboratories and advise on standard practice, correct procedures and make sure that there are standard operating procedures for each investigation.
The committee is also expected to look at practising licenses of private practitioners so as to ensure they are genuine and current.
Anambra State Commissioner for Health, Dr Vincent Okpala while inaugurating the committee, said that it became necessary because of the sharp practices noticed from laboratories.
“When we move around, we notice that we have quacks in the system and not only in Anambra.
“We also see some practice where you visit the Lab and your body specimen is obtained; the return result shows that you are not subjected to the test.
“These are the things that make it paramount that we look into people’s licences and it is seen in one or two places.
“All our effort is to ensure that we maintain sanity so that people would have access to genuine quality care.
“As a government, we understand that they have very die implications with respect to increasing morbidity and mortality among the populace.
“The goal is to actually have professionals that will help us to take care of things, by way of advising the ministry and to help us with the enforcement,’’ he said.
The commissioner assured them of the state Government’s maximum support in the task assigned to them, urging them not to relent in the discharge of their duties for the wellbeing of Anambra people and Nigerians at large.
“If after monitoring exercise and advice, there is defiance in the private practitioner, enforcement should be adopted to ensure quackery and fake operators are stamped out and standard professionalism promoted,’’ Dr Okpala charged.
According to him, people working in Government-owned facilities are not excluded from the monitoring.
Responding, the Chairman of the committee, Mrs Obiageli Okeke on behalf of the committee members, assured that they would discharge their duties diligently at all times.
