• Attributes causes to unprofessionalism, poor service
• Urges critical stakeholders to be safety ambassadors
• LUTH, specialists lament paediatric gap amid workers’ exodus
Lagos State Government has said that unprofessionalism often causes about 20 to 40 per cent wastage during healthcare delivery.
Permanent Secretary, Health Facilities Monitoring and Accreditation Agency (HEFAMAA), Dr Abiola Idowu, stated this yesterday, during a conference to mark the 2025 World Patient Safety Day and stakeholders’ engagement, themed “Safe Care for Every New Born and Every Child.”
Idowu said that wastage could occur when there is a misdiagnosis, which means the patient’s time is wasted, the doctor’s time is wasted, wrong drugs are administered, and unnecessary tests or investigations are conducted.
She added that the focus of this year’s celebration is to improve care for the newborn and child, as well as bring down morbidity and mortality rates in terms of neonatal, infant, and child death rates.
Also, Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Health, Oluwakemi Ogunyemi, said stakeholders must work together to strengthen the health system, ensure accountability, and give every child in Lagos State a fighting chance.
SIMILARLY, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) and medical specialists have expressed concern over gaps in paediatric care, warning that health workers’ exodus is undermining patients’ safety, particularly children.
However, to commemorate the 2025 World Patient Safety Day, stakeholders, yesterday, at LUTH, agreed that safeguarding patient safety requires not only policies and equipment but also the human resources to implement them.
They said that unless urgent measures are taken to curb brain drain and strengthen the culture of safety, children in Nigeria would continue to face avoidable risks within the health system.
A Consultant Neonatologist and professor of Paediatrics at LUTH, Prof. Iretiola Fajolu, said that children require specialised care tailored to their size and developmental stage, stressing that a single safety incident could permanently alter a child’s life.
She noted that a weak health system, coupled with the migration of doctors, nurses and specialists abroad, is leaving newborns and children more vulnerable to unsafe care.
Chief Medical Director of LUTH, Prof. Wasiu Adeyemo, called for urgent action, insisting that patients’ safety is a right, not a privilege.
He said that hospitals exist because of patients and that the reputation of health institutions rests on the people, including doctors, nurses, technicians and cleaners, who provide care daily.
