Lagos warns against unregistered health facilities

The Lagos State Health Facilities Monitoring and Accreditation Agency has urged residents to desist from patronising unregistered health facilities and healthcare providers in the state.

The Permanent Secretary of HEFAMAA, Dr Abiola Idowu, gave the warning on Friday at a sensitisation programme held at the Oshodi/Isolo Local Government Secretariat to enlighten residents about the agency’s activities.

Idowu, who was represented by the Deputy Director, HEFAMAA Inspection and Monitoring Unit, Oladuni Omitola, stressed that the government had identified lapses in healthcare provision, which necessitated the establishment of HEFAMAA to tackle the challenges.

“Health is wealth; we want you to know that you must prioritise your health. We should ensure that we visit government-accredited health facilities. The Lagos State Government loves the people, which is why we are saying that only HEFAMAA-accredited health facilities should be patronised,” she added.

The Permanent Secretary explained that, as part of initiatives to ensure compliance and effective monitoring, the agency had introduced a barcode that residents could use whenever they visit any healthcare facility to verify its registration status.

According to her, the barcode could also be used to make complaints and recommendations about any facility.

She added that since the agency commenced operations in 2006, no fewer than 4,000 healthcare facilities had been captured in its database

Idowu also encouraged residents to subscribe to the government’s health insurance initiative for unrestricted access to medical care.

In his remarks, the HEFAMAA Director of Administration and Human Resources, AbdulAzeez Jimoh, stressed that the agency had outlined punishments for erring facilities that fail to comply with standard practices.

“Those who have been accredited and have our symbol are now representatives of the Lagos State Government. When you get to any facility and such a facility does not abide by standard practices, you can scan the QR code, and it will direct you on how to report such a facility. When they perform excellently too, you can report it to us,” Jimoh added.