Lagos Govt Shuts 42 Illegal Health Facilities

At least 42 health facilities out of about 1040 in Lagos were shut down by the state Health Facilities Monitoring and Accreditation Agency, HEFAMAA, between January to September 2022, over illegal operations and other related offenses.

Executive Secretary, Agency, HEFAMAA, Dr. Abiola Idowu, disclosed this yesterday, at Ikeja, while reviewing the activities of the agency in the nine-month period.

Idowu, explained that the facilities were sealed for non-compliance with regulatory standards, adding that other infractions committed include: non-registration of facilities and lack of qualified medical personnel as well as the illegal training of auxiliary nurses.

She disclosed that in the same period, 170 facilities across the state were inspected for registration, while about 157 closure notices were issued.

Idowu stressed that the key areas monitoring officers focus on during monitoring and inspection exercises of health facilities are; the qualification of personnel, operation processes of the facility, the environment, as well as the standard of equipment.

Speaking further on HEFAMAA’s monitoring activities, the Executive Secretary m, added that the aim of the franchise was to improve the effectiveness of the monitoring exercise so that all the health facilities in the state can be monitored at least twice a year as the law stipulates.

According to her: “The agency is empowered by the Health Sector Reform (HSR) Law 2006 to franchise some of its activities. Section 49 (5) of the law granted the Agency the power to select franchise companies to monitor and ensure compliance with the law by health facilities in the State”.

Idowu, therefore, urged owners and operators of health facilities to get acquainted with the law and carry out their operations in accordance with it to safeguard the health of the people.

While stressing the commitment of the state government to sustaining the fight against quackery and unprofessional conduct in the system, she urged intending operators to ensure proper registration with the agency through its website, hefamaa.lagosstate.gov.ng before commencing operations, adding that existing registered operators should ensure prompt renewal of their certificates to avoid being sanctioned.