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Tag: patients

  • Doctor seeks oversight to end discrimination against patients

    Doctor seeks oversight to end discrimination against patients

    Chief Executive Officer of Donolush Healthcare Solutions, Dr Tunde Olujobi, has said health insurance policy in Nigeria is still facing challenges requiring attention of the authorities.

    Olujobi, a former general manager of Quality Assurance and Medical Services, Premier Medicaid International, called for stricter monitoring of healthcare facilities to eliminate discrimination against Health Maintenance Organisations’ (HMO) patients for virile health insurance.

    The former board member of Ekiti State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, who spoke  in Lagos, called on policy makers “to prioritise healthcare reform to ensure that health insurance becomes a genuine financial buffer and to deliver on the promise of accessible, available, acceptable and ultimately affordable quality healthcare for all Nigerians”.

    Olujobi lamented that discrimination, economic doldrums, delayed reimbursement and underfunded health facilities have contributed to the near collapse of the health insurance scheme in Nigeria.

    He said: ”Health insurance policy in Nigeria still faces challenges despite efforts. Concerned authorities should ensure that HMOs provide fair compensation to healthcare providers”.

    The medical practitioner regretted that “while health insurance in Nigeria is meant to provide a safety net, yet many enrollees feel left in the lurch”, adding that while having patients who are supposed to be covered through the illusion of financial security, the reality often falls short.

    He said: “Many HMO patients report discrimination in both public and private facilities. I was privileged to have once served as a general manager in charge of Quality Assurance and Medical services in one of the HMOs.

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    “We had a large number enrollees’ base spread across the country, with more than a thousand healthcare providers. We got reports that some hospitals prioritize patients paying out of pocket over those covered by HMOs, leading to delayed treatments, limited access to specialist care, dispensing of unbranded drugs and sometimes outright denial of services.”

    Olujobi lamented that the fallout was further exacerbated by Nigeria’s ongoing economic challenges, affecting both healthcare providers and patients.

    According to him, Service providers face rising costs, from purchasing medical supplies to paying staff, yet the reimbursement from HMOs often fails to keep pace.

    “This shortfall places immense pressure on service providers, resulting in restricted services or increased co-payment charges from the enrollees.”

    He lamented that at some time, patients already struggling with inflation, feel the burden as they experience delays or substandard care, making them “insured but not Insured”.

    “To address this regulatory oversight, concerned authorities are to ensure that HMOs provide fair compensation to healthcare providers. There is need for stricter monitoring of healthcare facilities to eliminate discrimination against HMO patients,” he stated.

  • Chemical pathologists recommend AI in patients management

    Chemical pathologists recommend AI in patients management

    Chemical Pathologists, Professors Adekunle Okesina and Simeon Adebisi, have advocated for the integration of new technologies and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in patient management by healthcare providers.

    Prof. Okesina, a former Chairman of the National Committee of Provosts of Colleges of Health Sciences, urged medical practitioners to adopt emerging technologies, particularly local innovations, to overcome challenges in patient management.

    Speaking to reporters in Ilorin, Kwara State, during his retirement celebration and 70th birthday anniversary, Okesina emphasized the importance of exchanging ideas, knowledge, and expertise in healthcare.

    He noted that such collaboration could foster the creation of new ideas, enhanced devices, and significant breakthroughs in research.

    Okesina encouraged doctors from various specialties to collaborate, asserting that the cross-pollination of ideas could lead to improvements in medical practices.

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    In his lecture entitled: “Roles and responsibilities of chemical pathologist in concept of multidisciplinary team approach in the management of patients”.

    Prof Adebisi, the immediate Past Provost, College of Health Sciences, Benue State University advised medical doctors in Nigeria to embrace the emerging technologies in management of patients.

    “The truth of the matter is that worldwide now, the direction that medical care is going is what we call multidisciplinary patient care approach.

    “In other words, gone are the days in which a doctor will sit down in one corner and he wants to manage all aspects of a patient’s disorder.

    “You bring in the different specialties and you form a team so that you can put your minds together,” he said.

    The expert explained that doctors need to bring different specialty skills to the table, adding that this will give a better understanding, procedure, consistent and appropriate intervention.

    “And the patients will come out of their problem in a better way. So that’s actually the way to go,” he said.

  • MDCN warns doctors to stop denying patients treatment during strike

    MDCN warns doctors to stop denying patients treatment during strike

    The Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) has warned doctors to desist from denying patients access to health care services during strike.

    The council said such attitude towards patients had caused many avoidable deaths.

    MDCN is the statutory body for the regulation and control of the training, practice, and discipline of medical practitioners and dental surgeons in Nigeria.

    The council’s warning was contained in a letter, dated January 4, 2024 by its Registrar, Dr. Tajudeen Sanusi, and addressed to the Committee of Chief Medical Directors and Medical Directors of Teaching Hospitals, Federal Medical Centres, and Specialised Hospitals.

    Sanusi said the new rule was based on the recent penchant of registered practitioners to engage in industrial action, including strikes, to enforce their labour rights.

    The letter, titled: Conduct of Registered Medical Practitioners and Dental Surgeons in Hospitals during Strikes, noted that the abysmal conduct of shutting down the health sector had brought disrepute to the medical professions and would no longer be acceptable.

    According to the letter, patients on admission must not be discharged merely because of a strike.

    It added that accidents and other emergency paediatric units must remain open and manned by practitioners scheduled on roasters based on the provisions of the Medical and Dental Practitioners Act Cap M8 LFN 2004.

    The letter reads: “The prevalent practice where hospital patients are precipitously discharged from or denied access to wards, emergency units, labour rooms, etc, on account of strike actions is not acceptable.

    “While conceding that registered practitioners are entitled to demand and obtain their rights under the labour laws of Nigeria, the council frowns at any conduct that endangers the health-seeking public and could bring disrepute to the medical and dental professions.

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    “Pursuant to the above, we wish to call the attention of the Chief Medical Directors, Medical Directors, and heads of healthcare institutions who are registered practitioners, to the provisions of the Medical and Dental Practitioners Act Cap M8 LFN 2004, in sections1 (2c), 15(3a), 16(2) and Rules 45 and 50 of the Code of Medical Ethics in Nigeria 2008 Edition, the import of which are:

    “Patients on admission should not be discharged merely on account of strike action: Accidents and Emergency, Emergency Paediatrics Unit, Labour Ward/Room, Neonatal Care Unit, Intensive Care Unit, and other points in the hospital for providing emergency and critical care must remain open and manned by practitioners who had been scheduled on roasters to man them.

    “Patients who had been given appointments before the strike must be attended to.”

    The registrar also warned that administrative practitioners would be held responsible and sanctioned, should any violation occur.

    “The registered practitioners in administrative charge of hospitals as Chief Medical Directors, Medical Directors or by whatever designation, shall be held responsible for violation of these regulations by registered practitioners deployed in the hospitals they are in charge of,” the letter added.

    “You are requested to bring this correspondence to the attention of all registered medical and dental practitioners who are your employees including the residents,” the letter added.

    The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) recently gave the Federal Government till January 31, 2024, to meet its demands or risk industrial action in the health sector.

    NMA President Uche Ojinmah, who issued the ultimatum at a media briefing on December 17, 2023, said the association could not guarantee industrial harmony after the ultimatum, if the government failed to meet its demands of an upward review of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure.

    He also urged the government to implement the newly approved accruement allowance with arrears from June 2022.

  • CMD seeks support for cancer patients

    The Chief Medical Director of the Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido-Ekiti, Ekiti State  (FETHI), Dr Adekunle Ajayi, has urged well-meaning Nigerians to come to the aid of cancer patients in view of the high cost of treatment.

    The CMD spoke during a public lecture “Fighting the scourge of cancer in Nigeria”, organised by the Nigeria Medical Association (National Committee on Cancer), in partnership with FETHI, to mark the 2019 World Cancer Day.

    Ajayi said: “Treatment is expensive and this has made it imperative for kind-hearted Nigerians to come to their aid by helping them with treatment.

    “This hospital has able hands who have been going to communities to sensitise the people and offer free screening.”

    According to him, FETHI goes on outreach services at least twice a week as part of its core duties to give quality healthcare services to people at the grassroots, who perhaps are indigent.

    Guest speaker and consultant anatomic pathologist Dr Abidemi Omonisi said if breast, cervix and prostrate cancers could be fought to a standstill, the prevalence of cancer would drop drastically.

    Omonisi said: “Industrial chemicals, asbestos fibres, radiation, pesticides, drugs, diet and chromosomal instability can all lead to cancer. Early screening should thus be encouraged as one of the ways to stem its spread.”

    He listed other preventive measures to include health education, setting up and funding of cancer registry, taking rainbow diets (balanced diets), reduction in unhealthy lifestyle, self-examination of breast and other parts of the body, and creating a policy that will promote easy access to affordable treatment and research, among others.

  • Alzheimer’s Foundation supports patients with creative arts 

    To celebrate Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness month, the Gabi Williams Alzheimer’s Foundation(GWAF) in collaboration with Hotel Moorhouse, the MGallery by Sofitel and Arts in Medicine Project (AIM), has launched the Fête de laMusique/ Art for Alzheimer’s Disease project.

    The project comprises three sequential phases: a ‘pre’ art workshop and a health presentation, an art workshop and an art exhibition, and a classical music concert.

    The programme will be flagged off by Dr Osigwe Paul Agabi of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Lagos, who will educate young visual artists on the basics of Alzheimer’s disease, while from June 15 to 16, art workshops will take place at selected elderly care homes across Lagos, for persons with Alzheimer’s disease.

    The exhibition will be rounded off on Wednesday, June 20, at Hotel Moorhouse, Ikoyi,Lagos with an art exhibition of works alongside a classical music concert by Vesta Ensemble.

    Through this unique project, GWAF aims to increase the joy of living of people with Alzheimer’s disease, raise awareness of Alzheimer’s disease, reduce the stigmatization of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias and showcase the ability of persons with Alzheimer’s disease to continue to live an active life after diagnosis.

  • Patients, nurses flee hospital as police declare doctor wanted for alleged robbery

    Patients, nurses flee hospital as police declare doctor wanted for alleged robbery

    VITALCARE Hospital became a shadow of itself in three days. The health centre which was arguably one of the thriving private hospitals serving people in the suburbs of Abuja, became a ghost of its self soon after its founder and medical director, Dr. Ola Solomon Jimade, was declared wanted for alleged armed robbery.

    On Tuesday, police declared Jimade, a medical doctor, wanted over alleged involvement in armed robbery.

    According to the police, Dr. Jimade who hails from Ife-Olukotun in Kogi State, is the leader of a dangerous gang that has robbed numerous citizens and snatched vehicles at gunpoint in Abuja.

    The police said four pistols with eight rounds of live ammunition and a face mask, which was carefully hidden in a bag in the office of the doctor were recovered during execution of a search warrant in the suspect’s hospital.

    The Nation gathered that patients and workers had fled from the hospital even before stern-looking policemen arrived to seek information from residents of the Kubwa Phase 3 neighbourhood, where the hospital is located.

    When The Nation visited the hospital around 10:30am on Friday, some of the residents wore a quizzical look that betrayed anxiety and suspicion over ongoing police investigations of the suspect’s activities.

    The hospital’s white gate was left ajar, after the its staff reportedly took to their heels for fear of being implicated in their director’s scandal.

    When our correspondent made her way into the reception building which also houses the observation room, laboratory and pharmacy, it looked like a place that had just been raided or deserted in a hurry. There was no activity there neither was there any member of staff in the once busy hospital that supposedly offered paediatric, trauma, gynecology, optical, dental and emergency medical services.

    The hospital’s number, 08091280370, found to be registered in Dr. Ola Jimade’s name, remained switched off.

    When The Nation contacted the President of the Nigerian Medical Association  (NMA), Dr. Mike Ogirima, for information about the suspect, he said: “We are still trying to confirm if he is one of us and when we do, we will take holistic measures. If he is found culpable, he would be rusticated from the association and that means that he won’t be able to practice again; if he is found wanting, he would be delisted.

    “When we confirm that he is one of us, there is a tribunal: The Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) which is the equivalent of a High Court. He would be tried by the Council and also tried in the other court which will make it a multiple trial.”

    In an exclusive chat with the spokesman, FCT Police Command, DSP Anjuguri Manzah, he said: “We are still investigating the matter and we are reaching out to necessary authorities to help track him down.”

    He also said some victims of the gang have been coming to the Command  to talk about their traumatic experiences.

  • Patients hail FMC for introducing e-record keeping

    Patients hail FMC for introducing e-record keeping

    Some patients have praised the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Keffi, Nasarawa State, for adopting Electronic Medical Records (EMR) for efficient management of patient information.

    But the patients appealed to the Federal Government to introduce the EMR to all hospitals across the country.

    This was the views expressed by a cross section of patients yesterday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Keffi.

    They said the importance of electronic record keeping cannot be over-emphasised in the development of the health sector as it has also eliminated time wasting.

    Mrs Andoka Anthony, a resident and a patient, said since the introduction of the EMR in 2014 in the hospital, medical errors have been reduced and patients can easily access their information without wasting time.

    She called for the provision of modern technology in keeping record in health facilities across the country considering the importance to the health sector.

    Anthony also called on Record Keeping Officers across the country to embrace the use of Information Communication Technology in record management as their role is indispensable in the attainment of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Nigeria.

    “There is clearly no alternative to embracing technology, hence the need for record officers in hospitals to key in to EMR, so as to migrate from paper based health records keeping to electronic health records management for effective service delivery,” she said.

    Another patient, Mr Abu Sani, said EMR would develop the health sector and standardise its operations.

    “Electronic medical records have lots of advantages which included the reduction in medical errors, patients’ information and time wasting, among others.

    “I think more hospitals should key into it for quality service delivery,” he said.

    He also advised medical record officers who were yet to embrace modern technology to do so in their own interest and in the interest of the health sector.

  • More patients ‘attend Neuropsychiatric hospital’

    More patients ‘attend Neuropsychiatric hospital’

    The Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Lagos  recorded a 15 percent increase in its attendance for last year.

    This is  a 35 percent increase in male attendance and one percent  in female.

    The hospital’s Medical Director, Dr Oluyemisi Ogun, stated this at the presentation of last year’s annual report.

    Mrs Ogun said in 2016, the hospital recorded 21,026 male attendance compared with last year’s 28, 403, while it recorded 32,261 in 2016 for female compared with the 32,688 for year 2017. This translates to the 15 percent increase.

    Mrs Ogun said the number of new patients recorded in 2016 is 2, 001 for male, and 2, 030 for female is 4, 071 with males being 2, 091 and females being 1, 980 for last year, which means five percent increase in male attendance, and three percent decrease in females’.

    There is also an increase in the number of male patients being followed last year, which is 13, 728 compared with 2016 year’s figure of 11, 608. For female, it is 16 percent decrease as 19, 270 are recorded against year 2016’s 22, 928. Total number of patients being followed up are 32, 998, i.e five percent decrease.

    The number of patients on admission is 981 which is 13 percent increase compared with year 2016’s 867. 522 males were admitted last year compared to year 2016’s 487 (seven percent increase), while 459 females went on admission against year 2016’s 380 (21 percent increase).

    The hospital experienced a decrease in the number of patients discharged as 209 patients were discharged compared with 475 in 2016.

    Ogun breaks it down, “males discharged are 105 against year 2016’s 226 (54 percent), and 104 females compared with 249 (58 percent decrease) of year 2016. This amounts to 56 percent decrease.

    She said the hospital equally initiated a geriatric patient unit last year, recording 348 males and 542 females in the out gone year.

    The hospital recorded one percent increase in cases of drug abuse- 193 compared with 2016’s 186 as 165 males are attended to, compared with year 2016’s 163 (one percent increase), and 28 males are looked at against 2016’s 23 cases (21 percent increase).

    Dr Ogun said the statistics should be of interest to researchers as there are reasons responsible for the increase or otherwise in those data.

    She said funding remains the challenge of the hospital as N3, 321, 211, 290 was proposed and N2, 918, 132, 078.19 has been released and cash-backed by the government as at last month representing 87.9 percent implementation so far.

    Head of Clinical Services of Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Lagos, Dr Olugbenga Owoeye, said the main reason for the increase was that many Nigerians were aware that there is a medical intervention that can be obtained in the hospital largely because stigma and discrimination have been largely addressed in the society.

    Owoeye said: “Many professionals and organisations are now advocating on the need for mental health issues to come to the front burner. The need for the scaling up of his has even seen lawmakers holding a roundtable on ways to tackle drug abuse in Nigeria. Advocacy and awareness on mental health have compelled many people to come over to the hospital.

    “That there is an increase in more males than females coming to the hospital means more men are actually taking the bull by the horn in accessing mental healthcare services. This is in addition to the fact that drug abuses are becoming pandemic in Nigeria, it is commoner with males. As researcher, trainers and caregivers, the hospital is up to the task of merging the three responsibilities to the betterment of the country.”

  • Hope for cancer patients

    Hope for cancer patients

    Can nature treat cancer? Yes, say cancer patients at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi Araba, Lagos.

    They spoke at the seminar tagged: ‘Let’s kill it! organised by a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Atinuke Cancer Foundation.

    Despite that some of the patients looked frail, were on the wheelchair, they were bound by one thing – cancer, which they are determined to eradicate.

    Sitting under the well-decorated tent in front of the Oncology and Radiology Department of LUTH, some of the survivors praised an herbal supplement – Jobelyn – for providing succour for them.

    A survivor, Mrs Atinuke Lawal, the NGO’s founder, said Jobelyn stabilises cancer patients’ haematocrit which is why it is recommended for treating and managing cancer.

    She said: “I can recommend the drug to anybody living with cancer or a survivor. I put up this event, and dedicated a day out of the three days, to ensure that people receiving treatment, have adequate information about what worked for me, and others. I intend to let them know this message across our target audience, especially in Lagos,  through the media -TV, Radio, newspaper and the new media – that cancer can be overcome. I will extend the NGO’s frontiers to the rest of the world.”

    Mrs Atinuke urged the government  to assist in the research and development of traditional herbal plants that can treat diseases, especially terminal diseases, such as cancer.

    Another parent who does not want her name in print said narrated her experience with cancer treatment at the hospital. “Though it is expensive, we are getting results. When some of the machines broke down, Jobelyn and other drugs stabilised my relative who would have easily relapsed and turned to a bad condition. It was introduced to us by word of mouth by other patients and we did not regret using it.”

    Health Forever Products (HFP) CEO, Otunba Olajuwon Okubena, the brain behind the product, said the journey  started about 22 years ago through his discovery of the herb now developed and packaged as Jobelyn.

    According to him, his company has spent the last 20 years researching and have a reached a milestone that could not be ignored in its quest to prove that an African traditional medicinal product has some measure of scientific evidence to support its claim for the treatment and cure of cancer.

    Otunba Okubena said several in vitro and in vivo studies had been done with Jobelyn and the results have been published in peer-review journals. “Natural Immune System (NIS) Laboratory in the US discovered that Jobelyn activates several chemokines and cytokines as well as the natural killer cells which are responsible for destroying cancer cells naturally.

    “We have published the results of our latest research with the title: ‘Newly isolated compounds from West African Sorghum bicolor leaf sheaths Jobelyn® show potential in cancer immunosurveillance’. The full article could be accessed at: http://nobleresearch.org/Doi/10.14312/2052-4994.2016-6”.

    He lamented that Health Forever Product does not have the financial capacity to develop the product to an international standard.

    Otunba Okubena is, however, optimistic that the product could be a break-through for Nigeria in its contribution to cancer cure and enable it to have large share in the multi-billion-dollar cancer drug market.

    He added that a clinical study at a teaching hospital confirmed that breast cancer patients who were placed on Jobelyn maintained their blood levels before, during and after chemotherapy administration.

    Foremost Professor of Radiation Therapy and Oncology, Francis Abayomi Durosinmi-Etti, confirmed that natural medicine requires attention as it could provide a solution to cancer. He believes that the cure for cancer could be nearer to us or could be in our environment but we are not focused on this.

    Prof Durosinmi-Etti praised the presentation by Otunba Okubena, adding that the time had come for us to look inwards for a solution to cancer.

    Present at the event was the former head of department (HOD), Prof Remi Ajekigbe and Dr Muhammad Habeeb, Radiotherapy and Oncology HOD.

  • ‘Don’t blame medical tourism on patients’

    The senator representing Oyo South in the National Assembly, Soji Akanbi, has absolved Nigerians seeking medical tourism abroad from any blame.

    He said: “It is due to the inadequacy of medical facilities in the country.”

    Akanbi spoke in Ibadan, the state capital, as chairman of the 17th Alumni Day Lecture of Ibadan College of Medicine Alumni Association (ICOMAA), delivered by the Country Director of Technoserve Nigeria, Mr Lary Umunna.

    He said: “There is a lot of brain drains among Nigerian doctors due to inadequate medical facilities in the country. As the medical personnel troop out of the country for greener pastures, patients too are following them.

    “This has led to medical tourism. You don’t blame these patients for seeking solutions to their health challenges where they could get it.”