Less than 10% private hospitals got FG’s N100b COVID-19 grant, says medical guild

National President of Guild of Medical Directors, Dr. Raymond Kuti, has said not up to 10 per cent of private medical institutions got palliatives from the Federal Government’s N100 billion COVID-19 intervention fund to the health sector.

Noting that the money was more critical to private hospitals, as they welcome between 60 and 70 per cent of patients in Nigeria, Kuti said government must involve the private sector in financing and implementation of policies in the health sector.

The medic, who spoke at the weekend, during the groundbreaking of Cedarcrest Hospitals Limited in Lagos, lamented that implementation of government policies was a big bane in Nigeria.

According to him, an average government spends about seven per cent of its budget on health and not two per cent as done in Nigeria.

Stating that even the two per cent being pushed into government hospitals, he said with right policies, in less than 10 years, Nigeria would be able address the issue of medical tourism.

Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, who was represented by Chief Medical Director of Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Ebute-Metta, Dr. Ademola Dada, said the hospital, after being completed, would attract return of Nigerian doctors to check brain drain in the country.

He said with Cedarcrest Hospitals, funded by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as part of COVID-19 intervention funds, is trying to ensure the reversal of brain drain and turning it into brain gain.

He said the hospital was able to get a share from the fund as it has demonstrated effective healthcare in the sector.

Earlier, Chief Executive Officer of Cedarcrest Hospitals Limited, Dr. Felix Ogedegbe, said with the advent of COVID-19 and renewed government interest in healthcare funding, the firm ceases the opportunity of the CBN intervention funds through Fidelity Bank Plc to construct a new 55 bed hospital in Victoria Island.

He assured that the fully government intervention funded project should be completed by the end of 2023.

Noting that the facility plans to be one of the biggest in the country, he said the hospital would be adding immensely to healthcare in Lagos, as they are working with partners in Ghana, Togo, Liberia and Senegal to ensure inbound healthcare tourism from West Africa is directed to Lagos and Abuja.