Oyo to shut private health facilities with unqualified personnel

The Oyo State Government has announced that private health facilities operating with unqualified personnel will be shut down immediately.

The state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Oluwaserimi Ajetunmobi, disclosed this during separate meetings with the executives of the Clinics and Maternity Proprietors and Proprietresses Association of Nigeria (CAMPPAN), Oyo State branch, and stakeholders in the private healthcare sector, held at the ministry’s conference room.

According to Dr. Ajetunmobi, valuable lives are being lost due to quackery practices, necessitating stricter regulations among healthcare providers.

She stressed that hospitals without qualified personnel pose a danger to society and reiterated that any private hospital operating without properly qualified staff would be closed.

Dr. Ajetunmobi stated that hospital owners who are not medically trained must employ qualified doctors with up-to-date Annual Practicing Licenses. Other staff must also ensure their registrations are current.

She said, “Anyone practicing with an expired license is regarded as a quack; therefore, such hospitals will not be spared from the government’s sanctions. We need to do this in the interest of our people.”

The Commissioner further cautioned private hospital owners to operate within their professional limits, adding that exceeding their scope of practice constitutes quackery, which the government will not tolerate.

“Clinics are not meant for admitting patients but for observation and onward referrals. They should not take on the role of hospitals,” she added.

The Permanent Secretary, Oyo State Ministry of Health, Dr. Akintunde Ayinde, reiterated the government’s commitment to ensuring residents receive quality healthcare. He warned that individuals establishing hospitals without the proper qualifications would face sanctions.

Dr. Ayinde also urged relevant bodies to collaborate with the government in identifying and addressing quackery and malpractice within the sector.

Representatives of the associations, in their responses, pledged to cooperate with the government to eliminate quackery and promote safer healthcare practices in the state.