The Lagos State House of Assembly joint committees on Health and Information and Strategy last week toured COVID-19 facilities in the state. OZIEGBE OKOEKI writes on the outcome of the tour.
When members of the Lagos State House of Assembly joint committees on Health and Information and Strategy rounded off their tour of facilities treating COVID-19 patients, they showered praises on the Lagos State government.
Doctors, nurses and all other frontline workers at the Infectious Disease Hospital (IDH), Yaba and other Covid-19 facilities in the state also hailed the government.
The members were led by the chairman of the health committee, Hon. Hakeem Sokunle. Others on the tour are Hon. Tunde Braimoh, Information committee chairman, Hon. Desmond Elliot, chairman environment committee and Hon. Adewale Temitope, chairman transport committee.
The facilities visited include IDH, Yaba, Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Isolation Centre, Onikan, Lagos, Landmark Isolation Centre, Eti-Osa, Lagos and Gbagada General Hospital Isolation Centre.
Some workers at the IDH, Yaba complained about the inadequacy of their call-room and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and the lawmakers promised to ensure action was taken.
The Incident Manager, Emergency Operating Centre (EOC), IDH, Yaba, Dr. Ismail Abdulsalaam, thanked the state government for its support saying: “We have a significant support from the state government in terms of resources both human, vehicles, equipment and others.”
Addressing reporters at the end of the tour, the leader of the team, Sokunle, said: “People have refused to obey the lockdown order, they still move all around, this is not good for the state; this is something that is all over the world and has consumed so many people, I appeal to them to stay at home for their own safety.
“The best way to curb the spread is absolute lockdown, i understand it is not easy, but sometimes we should be able to consider the effect of Covid-19 because if you witness the effect of the virus on human beings, it is very, very bad.”
Braimoh, who is the spokesperson of the Assembly, said considering that the pandemic was an exigency that caught everybody unaware the response of the state government assisted by the Federal government had been very impressive.
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“In the circumstances that this is an exigency because there was no measure of preparedness for this, this is a pandemic, this is something that just occurred from the blues. And it happened, and of course we were unprepared, unaware and caught with surprise.
“Given that background, the response of the Lagos State government assisted by the Federal government has been very, very impressive. Given the dynamics of the circumstances the response has not been bad.
We have world class standard equipment available at the centres which can compete with any facility in the world. We commend the frontline workers who are maintaining the facilities which gives the patients the confidence of recovering.
“We have seen that they have adequate facilities, we only need to add some welfare and comfort equipment and resources to what is already available so that the workers can bring out their very best; this we shall look into in our recommendation to the appropriate quarters.”
There is no doubt that the health facilities and the healthcare delivery system in Lagos state will not remain the same after the pandemic because the outbreak of the virus has boosted the healthcare delivery system with more medical equipment supplied to hospitals.
When some of the isolation centres are dismantled after the pandemic is over, the equipment, said the Head of YPO, Dr. Richard Ajayi, will be handed over to the state government.
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