Don’t privatise federal hospitals, health unions urge Tinubu

Forum 8 months ago

Don’t privatise federal hospitals, health unions urge Tinubu

The Joint Health Sector Unions and Assembly of Healthcare Professional Association have called on President Bola Tinubu not to concede to plans to privatise all federal health institutions, saying it offers no solution to the problems in the nation’s health sector.

The health unions in a statement on Thursday said the move which was said to have been designed to reduce brain drain within the rank of the health workforce should not be considered by the presidency in the interest of the public.

The statement which was signed by the acting National Chairman Mathew Ajurotu also stated that the composition of the committee which was constituted for the purpose and headed by former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo did not portray a balanced representation.

It said, “When the immediate past administration constituted a 24-man Health Reform Committee under the headship of former Vice-President Yemi Osibajo, that committee was designed to fail ab initio because it had a composition of 18 physicians, one pharmacist, one medical laboratory scientist, one nurse, two administrators and one lawyer.

“All efforts to make the Osinbajo-led committee imbibe the tenets of justice, equity and fairness to all concerned was jettisoned which made us predict that the effort was going to be a waste of both time and scarce government resources.

“There have been debates and discourses on privatisation, commercialisation as well as concessioning of health facilities in recent times for what apparently bothers on the pecuniary gains and interest of a few stakeholders.”

The body added that the Nigerian health system has continued to struggle in the rear in the comity of decent nations.

It said the totality of the above challenges is what makes the health sector extremely vulnerable to accepting a reform in a partnership-based reform programme to increase private sector participation and funding.

It further noted that the government had been hoodwinked into believing that the policy reform will improve availability, accessibility, quality and affordability of health services by expanding coverage, while adding that any attempt to privatise facilities in public health institutions would compromise the lives of the vast majority of Nigerians and compounds their existing woes.

“As a matter of fact, concessions, privatisation, or mutilated PPP agenda at this point in the evolution of health endeavour in Nigeria is a direct invitation to morbidity and mortality. This is worsened by the fallout of the withdrawal of fuel and electricity subsidy. The only option that works in the maximum interest of Nigerians at this time is to allow healthcare to remain a social welfare service to consumers of health,” the statement added.

The Union however urged the federal government to return the business of hospital management and administration to seasoned administrators and managers of cognate experience.

It said, “All health professionals who desire to head hospitals in Nigeria must henceforth undertake specialist management and administrative courses at post-graduate levels in specialised schools and institutes.

“These health professionals including pharmacists, physicians, physiotherapists, medical laboratory scientists and other health workers must be made to study health administration and management in their reviewed curriculum even at undergraduate level moving forward.”

This is as it also reiterated its calls for the appointment of a non-physician health minister to pave the way for the restoration of the hitherto great times when health administrators steered the ship of healthcare successfully to attract the likes of the Saudi Royal family to the UCH, Ibadan in the ‘70s.