Lagos State has launched the ‘Floating Clinic Boat’, a Fiber Glass, Mono Hull Boat 200HP x 2 capacity, to serve medical emergencies on the waterways and in riverine communities.
The Floating Clinic Boat, a brain child of the Ministry of Health and the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), is equipped with four medical observation beds, medium sterilisation unit, o2 bottle, gauge, infusion stand, foldable stretcher and a fully kitted first aid box.
It is compartmentalised into four sections of the Wheel house (for captain and crew), observation room (for patients), doctors’ office and nurses’ station, and reception.
Marine safety equipment include life jackets, fire bucket, life buoy, life rat, fire extinguisher and navigational lights, as well as navigational equipment like garmin ecomap, compass, VHF radio accessories and siren.
At the unveiling and inspection, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Olusegun Ogboye, explained that the idea behind the Floating Clinic was to provide first aid, medical emergency care and basic healthcare services at accident scenes on the inland waterways and riverine communities in Lagos State.
He said: “The Floating Clinic is mainly to deal with emergencies on the waterways and provide outreach services to riverine communities. This is part of the initiative by the Ministry of Health to ensure that we extend our medical and ambulance service to the waterways, remote riverine communities and areas that can only be accessed by water. This is also an example of partnership between different agencies of government. The boat actually belongs to LASWA but will be operated by the Ministry of Health.”
Ogboye hinted that Floating Clinic will be deployed for the ongoing integrated measles and COVID-19 vaccination campaign in riverine communities and water ways, saying it is part of plans by the government to ramp up emergency services to effect a reduction in response time.
General Manager of LASWA Damilola Emmanuel noted that the initiative will further add to the integrated emergency and rescue system put in place by LASWA to ensure safety of commuters and wellbeing of citizens of riverine communities.
“For us at LASWA, we have been gradually building emergency and rescue efforts, and gradually seeing how safety on the water ways improves year after year. This is just another initiative to further add to the integrated emergency and rescue system because what we are going to do is to have our own core emergency and response boat in our jetties, along with the soon-to-be launched control room.
“I used the word integrated because apart from the floating clinic which will be attending to emergencies, we will have the core emergency team which will comprise divers, boat captain and medics on the core rescue boat which LASWA will provide.”