A
medical practitioner, Dr. Uche Ugbokwe, has called on health workers to
offer patient-oriented services if they want to attract more patronage
in public hospitals.
Ugbokwe spoke at the opening ceremony of
the 30-day nationwide integrated service delivery training, organised
by the National Primary Health Care Development Board for health workers
in Lagos.
He said the attitude of health workers was a major reason why Nigerians were often discouraged from using public hospitals.
He said, “Health workers’ behaviour or
attitude towards patients is a key factor that could drive patients away
from a hospital. Though we have skilled health workers in primary
health care centres, patients will rather go to traditional birth
attendants and patent medicine vendors because those ones offer
patient-oriented, rather than quality services.”
One of the facilitators at the training,
Dr. Ade Adetunji, noted that the goal of the integrated service
delivery seminar was to equip the health workers with multiple skills
that would assist them in offering different care to a patient in one
visit.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Director, Health
Education, Lagos State AIDS Control Agency, Mrs. Bisi Oyenuga, has said
the state would be decentralising the provision of health care services
presently concentrated in secondary and tertiary care facilities.
According to her, people living with
HIV/AIDS can now get their drugs from PHCs in their local governments,
instead of going to tertiary health care centres.
She said: “It is a welcome initiative
that will bring services closer to the people. People living with HIV
can now come to the PHC to refill their drugs and have other services;
while the secondary care facility is available for referrals in cases
that cannot be managed at the PHC.”
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