Janet Ogundepo
The Lagos State Chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association, Dr Saheed Babajide has faulted the recent takeover and upgrade of the General Hospital, Epe, to a Federal Medical Centre by the Federal Government.
He asserted that the upgrade was unfavourable to the residents of the area, noting that the move would deprived them of the healthcare benefits enjoyed by othe residents in the state.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with PUNCH Healthwise on the takeover, the physician said it was wrong for the Lagos State Government to handover a general hospital serving vulnerable Epe residents to the Federal Government.
Babajide said, “The transformation of General Hospital, Epe to FMC is not good for the people of Epe because they will be deprived of the state’s health system for life. In the sense that they will only have a federal institution, which will be controlled from Abuja. Therefore, they will not have any direct benefits from it, which is different from what they used to have with Epe General Hospital.”
Punch Healthwise reported that the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the transfer of Epe General Hospital to the Federal Government last Thursday.
Subsequently, the facility was renamed Federal Medical Centre, Epe.
This brings the number of FMCs in the state to two.
The Federal Government had in August announced the establishment of three additional FMCs to alleviate the strain on healthcare facilities and achieve Universal Health Coverage.
Aside from the FMC in Epe, two other FMCs were built in Misau, Bauchi State and the other in Ikole-Ekiti, Ekiti State, bringing the number of FMCs in the country to 26.
However, the FMC in Epe and Misau will each have a nursing school.
Before the formal handover of the hospital, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Tunji Alausa, had presented appointment letters to the acting medical directors of FMC Epe and Misau.
Speaking further on the situation, Babajide further noted that although the resident would still benefit from the Primary Health Care Centres, access to free medical care for children and the elderly at the tertiary hospital level had been cut off.
“Now, when you have the FMC, those benefits will not be there. They can no longer get free health for children and the elderly because that is not a policy of FG.
“Also, Epe General Hospital should be developed and not transformed into an FMC because they have been improving it by building speciality clinics. Why do they have to take that? They should be thinking of increasing speciality clinics in that hospital and then the government can now have a separate and new FMC,” the Lagos NMA chair said.
He further queried the decision that the former workers of Epe General Hospital could transfer their services to the FMC and wondered how their October to December salaries would be paid since it was not projected in the 2024 budget.
Babjide further questioned, “What is the benefit? How are they going to get doctors and nurses? Epe is a suburb of Lagos and different from FMC, Ebutte-Meta which is at the centre and it is easy to get workers. How many people will go to Epe?”
He further noted that by the time the Dangote refinery began the mass production and distribution of fuel, living and working in such area would be discouraging for most people.
“They should think fast and be proactive. For me, it’s a wrong decision for Lagos state government to accept that and they have deprived the Epe division of so much. They should be thinking of getting a general hospital that will complement the Epe General Hospital,” the doctor stated.
He further condemned the establishment of more medical schools, stating that most teachers to train new doctors have left the country.
The Lagos NMA chair asserted that establishing more medical schools would further create more room for more Nigerian-trained doctors to migrate to other countries, making the government an “exporter of doctors.”
“The government will lose all the subsidised medical school fees they have spent on people to become doctors. Their family have also used their sweat and money, to train somebody as a doctor and nurse and at the end of the day, the family and the government will lose.
“What they should be thinking about is how to resolve this issue of Japa and look at how we’re going to improve the health sector,” Babajide said.
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