13022018 - 2019 Guber: Okorocha endorses son-in-law

42—Vanguard, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2018
Dilapidated PHCs in Imo Stat
tate put lives es at risk
Continued from Page 41
cannot boast of forceps,”
she said. Asked if
immunisation actually
takes place at the centre,
the source said although
they do that every
Wednesday, the
challenge is that the
women are not bringing
out their children.
“We usually use the
town crier to go round the
village
for
announcement;
sometimes we go from
house to house to tell
them to bring their
children but it remains a
big challenge.”
One striking thing in
these communities is that
there are no standard
hospitals. Members of
the communities are
forced to travel to the
capital, (Owerri) for
treatment.
Ngor Okpala is
arguably the largest local
government in Imo State.
Every politician aspiring
to be governor requires
block votes to win,
unfortunately, this part of
Imo State lacks basic
amenities including
roads, potable water and
functional hospitals.
Few kilometres away
was another health centre
in Oritsieze Community
also in Ozuzu
autonomous community,
Ngor Okpala LGA of Imo
State.
Facts reveal that the
centre was built by
Federal Government
under the previous
administration. This one
is well adorned, freshly
painted and built closed
to the abode of the
community’s late king.
These health facilities
meant to be the pillar of
public health services are
the curse instead.
Getting to Umukoro/
Opehie Health Centre
also in Ozuzu which took
about 10 minutes drive
with motorcycle, the sight
of a fallen town hall
surrounded by bush
revealed the shameful
and long neglect of
primary health centres
across the country.
Although, there was
nobody around the
centre when Good Health
Weekly visited,
investigation showed
that the centre is even
worse than others.
The structure wore a
forlorn look of
dilapidation and
desolation. There is dirt
everywhere. The
surroundings, including
the road leading up to the
premises is overgrown
with weeds.
Umukoro/Opehie PHC. Inset: Waiting hall and failed part of the
buidling.
Signs of farming are
obvious within the open
vast land but a collapsed
long section of the
perimeter wall and roof
remain unfixed.
Arguably, PHCs are
meant to provide services
to people in search of
medical care within their
immediate environment,
but no one needs a
soothsayer to say that the
people of Umukoro/Opehie
community see the PHC as
a let-down to them. One
wonders how the few
women that come for
antenatal sit and wait to be
attended to.
The hospital has no
doctor, drugs, running
Adelusidelusi-Adeluyi
deluyi seeks digital platforms to improve e patient outcomes
By Sola Ogundipe
H EALTHCARE
professionals in the
country have been urged
to close ranks and move the
health sector forward in the
interest of enhancing the
quality of health of the
average Nigerian.
They should also
leverage communication
and networking to boost the
networth of healthcare by
embracing the use of
digital health platforms
that will positively
improve patient
outcomes.
Health practitioners at
the launch of the IQVIA
HCPSpace - a digital
healthcare platform - in
Lagos recently who called
for these and other
improvements in the
sector said all hands
should be on deck to
salvage the industry.
President, Nigerian
Academy of Pharmacy,
Prince Julius Adelusi-
Adeluyi, who chaired the
event, noted that IQVIA's
HCPSpace is a bridgebuilding
tool that will
encourage collaboration
water, chairs, tables and
beds among others.
Parts of the roofing have
fallen off, while some parts
are leaking. There is a
nurse, but no pharmacist.
Nigeria in 1978 adopted
the World Health
Organization’s declaration
establishing Primary
Health Centres as the basic
unit of public health
delivery system.
Former Minister for
Health, Late Professor
Olikoye Ransome-Kuti,
had in 1986 championed
PHCs in Nigeria while the
National Primary
HealthCare Development
Agency, NPHCDA was
established in 1992, but
among healthcare
providers whilst driving
efficiency, performance
and capacity utilisation as
well as innovation in the
nation's health space as a
whole by leading global
provider of information,
innovative technology
solutions and human data
science, IQVIA, formerly
known as Quintiles IMS.
"I would like to
Parts of the
roof ing
have fallen
off, while
some parts
are leaking.
There is a
nurse, but
no
pharmacist.
commend IQVIA for
trying to crack a problem
that has remained with
Nigeria for quite a while
given the number of
government committees
that had been set up in the
past to solve the
challenge
of
interprofessional
collaboration and promote
harmony in the health
space.
judging from the quality of
primary healthcare delivery
in the country today, these
efforts have not yielded the
required results. The
million dollar question that
remained unanswered is
why are our PHCs not
functional?
Imo Government reacts:
When contacted, the Imo
State Commissioner for
Health, Dr. Angela
Uwakwem, who admitted
the poor state of health
centres in the state said the
problem was not peculiar to
those communities .
“We are in the process of
trying to sort out health
centres generally. We are
doing what we call
‘Primary healthcare under
one roof’.
“So we want to strengthen
the health centres. I had
three meetings last week
and I am going to call series
of meetings and trainings
aimed at making them
better.
I don’t think the problem
is peculiar to that
community alone but
whichever way; we are
appraising all the health
centres so that we will
know where we can help.
We have told health
officers to bring whatever
problems they have’.
On why there are no
drugs in the centres, she
said: “There are many
things that are wrong and
we are trying to reorganize
L-R :Director, Technology Solutions, AMESA, IQVIA in Technology, Ravi Akelia;
Country Manager, West Africa, IQVIA in General, Remi Adeseun; President, PSN,
Pharm Ahmed Yakassai; President, NMA, Prof. Mike Ogirima; President, Nigerian
Academy of Pharmacy, Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi; and Chairman, IQVIA
HCPSpace Advisory Board, Dr. Femi Olugbile during the MOU signing at the
official launch of the IQVIA HCPSpace in Lagos last week
“This tool will be a
blessing to the nation as
it will radically alter
Nigeria's health
landscape for good and
help to reduce
unnecessary competition
among professionals,"
Adelusi-Adeluyi stated.
Chairman, IQVIA
HCPSpace Advisory
Board, Dr. Femi Olugbile,
pointed to the growing
the system. It’s not about
Ngor Okpala. First of all,
we are trying to assess the
problems. Sometimes
drugs are given to the
people in charge and they
sell them and do all sorts
of things.
Stating that the state has
begun renovation of
hospitals, she explained
‘We are trying to set up
committees in the villages
so that these committees
can monitor what workers
are doing. It’s a whole lot
of reengineering. You
know I was sworn in as
commissioner within the
last two months. We are
trying to re-engineer
everywhere but what we
are doing first are
hospitals to know who has
what problem. Some
communities have come
up. Some have even done
one or two renovations.
Government is doing a lot
of renovations.”
She disclosed that about
27 health centres have
undergone renovation and
10 new ones are being
built. “As I speak to you,
27 health centres have
undergone massive
renovation and 10 new
ones are being built. In
some others we have
bought equipment and
some basic things are
being given to them.
So we are coming. It is
a gradual process. We
have also appealed to
others to write out five
things that they need.
Just be patient with us, we
are coming,” she stated.
domestication of
technology for personal
and professional use across
the world as well as
creating a sense of team in
community via multispecialty
task performance
and problem solving tools.
He also noted that
healthcare around the
world faces imminent
disruption as evidenced by
an alliance announced
recently by three
heavyweights in Corporate
America - e-commerce
giants, Amazon, global
multinational, Berkshire
Hathaway and Investment
bank, JPMorgan Chase.
The HCPSpace provides
solid benefits and gains in
the healthcare sector across
the world.
"We are very confident
that the IQVIA HCPSpace
will help improve
healthcare professional
practice, patient experience
and produce desired
healthcare outcomes.
“This is premised around
the tool's great value
proposition for individual
and general development,
knowledge sharing and
relationship building.”