COVID-19: Association urges synergy between health workers, revamping of hospital facilities

By Martha Agas
Synergy
Jos, March 19, 2020 (NAN) The Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU), Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) branch, has called for synergy between health workers and revamping of facilities in hospitals across the country to control the spread of the deadly Coronavirus(COVID-19).

The Chairman of the JOHESU, JUTH branch, Mr Samfi Kesuwo, made the call on Thursday in Jos, during an interactive session of its national officials with members of the association in Plateau.

Kesuwo said it was expedient for health workers to be abreast with the emerging challenges in the health sector especially the COVID-19 pandemic, stressing that more preparations were required to contain the disease through the synergy of different professions in the health sector.

“We need to be more careful and updated so that we can enlighten the public also to do same. We need to understand the importance of each profession in the health sector, because we need each other to make sure that the patient gets the best,” he said.

In his remarks, Mr Olumide Akintayo, team leader of the North-Central sensitisation tour for JOHESU, said that the visit was part of the union’s sensitisation tour of Federal Healthcare Facilities in the North-Central to boost the morale of its members to discharge their duties diligently in containing the COVID-19 scourge in Nigeria.

Akintayo said the visit was also to assess and evaluate the facilities, equipment and the drug procurement pattern in each of the facilities it would visit in Plateau, Benue and Nassarawa States,.

He said the visit was to promote rules of engagement with the hospitals’ management and to address peculiar challenges affecting them.

He said the team had visited President Muhammadu Buhari in respect of efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 and other issues affecting its members, adding that structural adjustment was required to boost the healthcare system in the country.

“The health system is not strong enough to withstand the challenges of a possible full blown epidemic of this virus, because the reality is that today the only functional isolation centres are in Lagos and Abuja, with Lagos one being the most sophisticated,” the official said.

He said equipment in hospitals were dilapidated and required prompt attention to address health challenges, adding that even though there were well trained medical personnel, good equipment and management were critical to quality health care delivery.

“To improve healthcare care system, seasoned administrators should be engaged to allow health workers to go back to their areas of core competence,” he said. (NAN)
MAA/COO/AMY
Edited by Cecilia Odey and Abdullahi Yusuf