The Edo State Government has closed down more than 108 healthcare facilities as part of a policy to eliminate unhealthy medical practices.
This was revealed by Dr Samuel Alli, the State Commissioner for Health, on Thursday in Benin City while speaking on Healthcare Regulations in the state. He said the facilities were closed down after several warnings.
Alli said the facilities were closed down for unsafe medical practices, operating beyond the approved scope, employing unqualified personnel and running unregistered facilities.
He said the exercise which started on August 2023 affected 33 medical laboratories, 10 hospitals, 11 nursing homes, 26 community pharmacies and 28 patent medicine stores.
The commissioner, who claimed that unhealthy healthcare practices had been happening in the state for years, however, swore that such unacceptable acts would no longer be allowed by the state government.
He said that the state government has begun the registration of all healthcare facilities digitally with Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping, encouraging facility owners to register.
“If your facility is not on our portal and found to be operating we will have no choice but to seal it after warning.
“We have had to close down a number of facilities operating beyond their scope after warning. These facilities operate with impunity and deviate from their areas of practice,” he said.
Alli also said that the Ministry had found several unsafe practices which posed a danger to the people of the state.
He mentioned some of the unsafe practices including unsafe abortion, use of expired drugs, improper waste disposal, unclean and improper environment and ill-equipped theatres.
The commissioner, while urging medical professionals to uphold the highest level of medical ethics and standards to ensure that all residents in the state are safe, however, warned to arrest and prosecute any offenders of the regulations of the Ministry.
He also lamented the high rate at which owners of health facilities use unqualified personnel such as auxiliary nurses, among others.