The Lagos State House of Assembly on Thursday called on Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu to direct the state Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi, to accredit more private hospitals to treat patients of coronavirus.
The governor was also urged to work with the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, on the fight against the disease.
The suggestions were part of the resolutions of the Assembly on Motion Number 23, 2020 entitled, “Need To Allow Private Hospitals Participate In The Treatment of COVID-19 Patients,” by Hakeem Sokunle (Oshodi/Isolo 1) during plenary.
According to Sokunle, “the House notes the efforts of the Lagos State Government in fighting COVID-19 and the creation of seven isolation centres.
“The House notes that COVID-19 keeps spreading based on report that over 11,000 people have contracted COVID-19.
“We feel that private hospitals with the necessary facilities should be involved in the treatment.
“Most of the doctors treating the patients are being paid by the state government.
“The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) once warned their members over treatment of COVID-19 patients. We need to involve private hospitals so that they could support the state government and prevent another lockdown.
“If the government involves private doctors and members of the state chapter of NMA, and train them, it will be easy to handle.
“We call on Governor Babajjde Sanwo-Olu to call on the state Commissioner for Health to see how they can work with private hospitals on treating COVID-19 patients.
“The government should also find means of working with NMA on the treatment of the patients.”
He then said that the state government should be empowered so that doctors in public hospitals would train doctors in private hospitals who would then be certified.
“After that, we should screen the hospitals and validate their equipment, certify them and accredit them.
“Such hospitals can now admit COVID-19 patients. The government has approved seven private laboratories so far on COVID-19.
“Once the laboratories start work, we will have a lot of patients hence the need for more hospitals.
“With this, we will avoid another lockdown to save the economy of the state. It will also encourage private practitioners to join us on the care of COVID-19 patients,” he said
In his comment, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa said that it was important that the NMA joined hands with the government to reduce the spread of the disease.
“If we leave it to only doctors in government hospitals, the disease will spread further.
“It will spread more among people living in crowded houses and they are more than people living in flats and other self contained apartments.
“We need to urge the government to call on the chairmen of local councils to work with CDAs to ensure that people living in crowded houses use face masks as well as those entering buses.
“We also need more people to take care of COVID-19 patients. Also, the government should pay the hospitals for the people they are treating,” he said.
In his comment, Noheem Adams (Eti Osa 1) traced the history of COVID-19 and how it started in China in 2019, and got to Lagos State in February, 2020.
While commending the governor of the state and the state Commissioner for Health over the way they had been handling the issue, he said that the virus, unfortunately kept spreading everyday and that some people were yet believe that there is COVID-19 in the state.
Abiodun Tobun (Epe 1), in his contribution, said that there was need to encourage doctors in private hospitals to treat COVID-19 patients since they attended the same schools with those in public hospitals.
