Medical practitioners want NHIS restructured

In commemoration of its 25th anniversary, Association of General and Private Medical Practitioners of Nigeria (AGPMPN), Mushin Zone, Lagos State has appealed to the Federal Government to restructure the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) for optimal performance to reduce mortality rate caused by unaffordable health facility.

The NHIS, established by the Federal Government, was meant to improve health delivery at an affordable cost, through prepayment.

Zonal Chairman, (AGPMPN), Dr. Fatai Popoola, who disclosed this during the Free Medical Outreach organised for Mushin residents, noted that the scheme has not been helpful to many Nigerians.

He said: “We organised this outreach for the benefits of all inhabitants of the area-market women, traders, police, artisans and others. We checked blood pressure, sugar level and provided free drugs, among other supports. Based on our experience during the outreach, we discovered that Nigerians don’t take their health status seriously. The only way we can encourage people to check their health status from time to time is for us to continue to educate the people on the importance of regular check-up.”

He lamented that economic crunch has taken a toll on the profession, as patronage has drastically reduced.

Activities marking the anniversary, which started on Thursday with a lecture, was concluded yesterday, with anniversary dinner/award night, at the Christian Missionary Fund Hall, Ilupeju.