The Nation Newspaper

Tag: health institutions

  • Health institutions and internally generated funds

    SIR: The increasing cost of running government-owned health institutions coupled with dwindling revenue and next to zero implementation by persons charged with the responsibilities of public health funds/revenues has led various health institutions with formulating strategies to improve the revenue base. More so, the near collapse of the economy has created serious financial stress for all public health institutions. Despite the numerous sources of revenue available to the various health institutions, over 80% funding comes from the annual budget of both the federal and states government. However, the serious decline in the price of oil in recent years has led to a decrease in the funds available for distribution. The need for health institutions to generate adequate revenue from internal sources has therefore become a matter of extreme urgency and importance.

    Revenue generation is the nucleus and the path to modern development. Thus, poor management of internally generated revenue from health institutions is a serious problem.

    It is of a general knowledge that for health institutions to completely admit or recognize a person as their patient, certain preliminary obligations in the form of registration, collection of cards and sometime deposit of certain amount of money must have been fulfilled by such a person which certainly would lead to such person parting with some money in favour of the health institution. Also, health institutions, being public institutions for health care delivery, also serve as revenue generating agencies of government by providing medical, surgical, radiological, pathological, laboratory, haematological consultancy and ambulance services, respectively and such other services related to health issues in exchange for financial payments.

    However, the question most time in the mind of the average Nigerian is what do these health institutions do with funds accruing from internally generated revenue since the government and some donor agencies partner to fund healthcare in Nigeria? Research had shown that the internally generated funds (IGF) by most of our health institutions are recycled to meet up with health facilities, equipment and logistics needed to meet up healthcare provision by most health institutions.

    It is time for the health minister and the National Council on Health to set up systems to meet the emergency needs of our public health institutions as well as put machineries in place for transparency and accountability of internally generated funds of our public health institutions.

     

    • Gregory T. Okere Esq.

    Centre for Social Justice, Abuja.

     

  • Health institutions and certificate of standards

    Sir: The World Health Organization (WHO) defines human health in a broader sense in its 1948 constitution as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”

    Certificate of Standard is defined by International Standards Organization (ISO) as documents that provide requirements, specifications, guidelines or characteristics that can be used consistently to ensure that materials, products, processes and services are fit for their purpose.

    This is one of the mandatory provisions of the National Health Act, 2014 as captured in section 13 as follows “(1) Without being in possession of a Certificate of Standards, a person, entity, government or organization shall not: (a) establish, construct, modify or acquire a health establishment, health agency or health technology; (b) increase the number of beds in, or acquire prescribed health technology at a health establishment or health agency; (c) provide prescribed health services; or (d) continue to operate a health establishment, health agency or health technology after the expiration of 24 months from the date this Act took effect.

    (2) The Certificate of Standards referred to in subsection (1) of this section may be obtained by application in prescribed manner from the appropriate body of government where the facility is located.(3) In the case of tertiary institutions, the appropriate authority shall be the National Tertiary Health Institutions Standards Committee, acting through the Federal Ministry of Health”.

    In section 14, the Act provides that: “Any person, entity, government or organisation who performs any act stated under section 13 (1) without a Certificate of Standards required by that section commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine of not less than N500,000.00 or, in the case of an individual, to imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years or both.”.

    However, since the commencement of the Act over three years ago, the process for the issuance of the certificate of standards has not been put in place and no institution has applied or been issued the certificate. The word used by the Act is the mandatory word “shall” which in legal jurisprudence imports an obligation. The Act did not use the discretionary word “may”. The implication of the foregoing is that all health institutions currently operating in the country are operating in defiance of the law and their services are tinted with the badge of illegality. Laws are meant to be obeyed and not to stay as dry letters of parchment in the statue books. From this fact, we do not need to go far to understand why Nigeria’s health system is poorly rated as one of the worst in the world.

    It is within the province of the Minister of Health to set machinery in motion for the implementation of the Act especially, this all important section of the Act. This refusal, neglect or failure to perform this statutory duty is inexcusable. When we consider the nexus, inseparability, indivisibility, interrelatedness of the rights to life (provided in section 33 of the Constitution) and health, we can begin to appreciate the great disservice that failure to implement such critical provisions of the Act brings to our healthcare delivery as well as the quality of our lives. Standards are necessary to ensure that the health services delivered across Nigeria meet the minimum requirements that contribute to life in larger freedom and enhance the productive capacities of the average Nigerian. A good number of Nigerian citizens have lost their lives or been deprived of their constitutional right to life through quacks and roadside health operators who continuously establish and operate health businesses without Certificate of Standards.

    This refusal to set the machinery in motion for certificate of standards is a violation of Nigeria’s obligation to protect the right to health within the context of failure of regulation and the failure to guarantee Nigerian citizens protection from state and non-state actors who may use health services outside the crucibles permitted by law and medical ethics. To the Minister of Health, the time to act and set the machinery for the issuance of certificate of standards is now.

     

    • Gregory T. Okere Esq.

    Centre for Social Justice, Abuja.

  • Ondo to partner private health institutions

    Ondo to partner private health institutions

    Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN) at the weekend pledged to partner with private institutions in the health sector to improve health care delivery system in the state. Akeredolu spoke at the first convocation ceremony of the Millennium College of Health Technology,(MCHT) Akure, the state capital.
    The governor who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr. Taye Oni commended the management and staff of the college for providing enabling environment for manpower training and development. Akeredolu however promised the readiness of the government in supporting the private institutions at all times in order to move the state forward.
    He added that one of the programmes of the present administration was to provide good training ground for the development of manpower especially in the health sector. The Chairman, MCHT Governing Council, Mrs. Caroline Ogunbadenusi said the mission of the college is to develop and improve public health services nationwide in the pursuit of excellence in manpower training, research and effective service delivery.
    Ogunbadenusi enthused that since inception of the institution,it had not relent in its efforts at producing world class middle level manpower in the health sector for the state and Nigeria as a whole. The Provost of the College, Stephen Yeye described the institution as a federal government approved private health training institution established to provide a world class opportunity for the youths prospecting in becoming health practitioners.

  • Resident doctors to Fed Govt: undertake forensic audit of health institutions

    The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) yesterday urged the Federal Government to institute a forensic personnel audit of federal tertiary health institutions.

    The President of NARD, Dr Dan-Jumbo Prince, spoke at a news conference in Lagos.

    Prince said that this would assist in appraising the level of spending and development in the nation’s health sector.

    He said that this was part of the resolutions of the association at the end of its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex, Ile-Ife, Osun.

    Prince said, “we reached some resolutions and one of them is that the Federal Government should immediately institute a forensic personnel audit of the federal tertiary health institutions.

    “The aim of the audit is to establish the true personnel spending, plugging of all leakages and reinvesting for the manpower and infrastructural development in the sector.’’

    He said fund was not allocated for residency in the 2015 budget, urging the Federal Government to make provisions for residency training in the 2016 budget.

    Prince also spoke on the incessant strikes in some tertiary health institutions.

    He said: “There are pockets of strikes in various Federal and State hospitals across the country.

    “This is due to the refusal of some Chief Medical Directors/Medical Directors to implement the directive of the Federal Government on the Adjustment of Grade of doctors according to a Dec.19, 2013 letter.

    “The refusal of these CMDs/MDs to obey the directive of the Federal Government has caused untold hardships to many Nigerians in accessing affordable health care.

    “NARD directs her local centres on strike to immediately engage their various hospital managements with the circular with reference C.2262/T/111 and dated July 29.

    “This is with a view to restore services as soon as the managements commence implementation of the directives.’’