Representatives to support privatisation of Nigerian teaching hospitals

A House member says the House will support a drive to privatize and commercialize federal teaching hospitals to improve efficiency and the delivery of health care.

The Chairman of the House Committee on Health, Amos Magaji, who represents Zangon Kataf/Jaba Federal Constituency in Kaduna State, disclosed this to journalists on Saturday evening, after the committee’s oversight visit to the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH), Zaria.

Magaji said the House of Representatives would support the initiative to strengthen service delivery, adding that the federal government should also take a critical look at health insurance and increase its capitation before venturing into such a project.

He added that health insurance should capture senior citizens aged 70 years and above because, with good health insurance capitation, people will be able to pay their bills when hospitals are commercialized.

“At the moment, there is a huge burden of out-of-pocket expenses in health, so if the National Teaching Hospital is privatised or commercialised, it is like giving death sentences to Nigerians,” Magaji said.

The President said governance was for the people and as such, government policies should have a human face and align with the aspirations of the people.

During his visit to ABUTH, Mr Magaji expressed the committee’s discontent over the number of staff at the hospital, noting that the prestigious tertiary health center with a capacity of 1,000 beds should have adequate workers to man the centre.

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The President pledged the committee’s commitment to address all grey areas of the health sector in the larger interest of all Nigerians.

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“The supervisory visit to the hospital was not aimed at finding fault or witch-hunting anyone, but rather assisting the facility in its task of providing affordable and quality healthcare services to Nigerians.

Earlier, the hospital’s chief medical director Hamid Umdagas told the committee that shortage of manpower and electricity supply were the main challenges for the hospital.

Mr Umdagas said the hospital, which had six satellite stations and 40 clinical and non-clinical departments, was barely able to function with just 2,805 staff as of June 27.

According to him, the “Japa” syndrome is severely affecting the centre’s human resources, as some of the medical staff have simply disappeared, while others have retired.

(YAYA)