The Lagos State government has deepened supervision of its Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency (HEFAMAA) by engaging services of seven franchise companies for improved service delivery.
This is to check quackery and malpractice in the health sector.
Speaking, Thursday, at a news briefing after meeting with representatives of the franchise firms in Ikeja, Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, explained that the desire to contain quackery in all forms informed the decision to engage reputable organisations in the private sector for compliance with health service provision in tune with extant law.
He said: “The private sector collaboration franchise model will expand HEFAMAA’s reach and effectiveness and will be implemented in two phases. The first phase, the pilot phase, is designed to test the model among a limited number of partners and health facilities, and in the second phase, the model will be fully executed, and lessons learned in the pilot phase, will be used to improve the model and scale it up.”
The commissioner clarified that the lucky seven private organisations were carefully chosen from a shortlist of 21 in conformity with the state’s procurement process, adding that the franchise companies will be responsible for monitoring both the public and private health facilities in the councils under the oversight of HEFAMAA and according to its protocol.
“The engaged private organisations are: SPC Patterns Consulting; Realms Health Care Consulting Services; IFS Healthcare; McOlivia Consulting Limited; AOI Training and Consulting Limited; Vhelar Consulting Limited and E-clat Health Care Limited,” Abayomi said.
While warning that no facility should be involved in healthcare delivery in the state without accreditation by HEFAMAA, the commissioner stated that all medical and allied medical staff cadres in health facilities should be properly registered with relevant regulatory bodies.
“It is important to also advise traditional medicine practitioners, faith-based healers and operators of pharmaceutical outlets not to go beyond their approved scopes of service, as doing so, will attract appropriate sanctions by HEFAMAA,” he added.
Abayomi assured that HEFAMAA will continue to inspect new facilities and ensure they register and observe due diligence all times.
Similarly, Chairman of HEFAMAA, Dr. Yemisi Sholanke-Koya, said there have been sporadic instances of quackery, malpractice and substandard service delivery in the health sector, promptly addressed by government through her agency.
She said the unsavoury development prompted the zero tolerance posture of the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu led administration to irregularities.
Also speaking, Executive Secretary of HEFAMAA, Dr. Abiola Idowu, commended the governor for supporting and championing outsourcing initiative, stressing that the move is not only laudable, but would improve the quality of healthcare delivery in the state.
