PSN asks C’ River to reverse hospitals concession

The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria has urged the Cross River State Government to urgently reverse the concession of health facilities in the state to avoid decay, confusion and intractable legal issues, among others.
 

The government recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with four concessionaires for the management of three general hospitals and the provision and management of outdoor signage services.
 

The health facilities under such arrangement are the General Hospital, Bekwarra, which is to be run by Bakor Hospital Limited; General Hospital, Obudu, taken over by Saint Luke Hospital Consortium; while Meditron-Loba Healthcare Ltd takes over pharmacies and clinical diagnostic centres in general hospitals Igoli, Yahe, Okpoma and Sankwala.
 

However, the Chairman of the Cross River State chapter of PSN, Paul Agbulu, said on Monday in Calabar that the concession would encourage sharp practices and avenue for incursions of fake and counterfeit drugs into the hospitals.
 

Besides, Agbulu said business firms did not have the technical, financial and expertise for training of hospital pharmacists.
 

He listed some of the consequences to include obvious challenges in the partnership of international development agencies and government in all conceded hospital units.
 

The state PSN chairman noted that the current concession of some health facilities, including pharmaceutical and laboratory services in the state, would lead to negative results.
 

Agbulu said, “The concession of health facilities in the state should therefore be reversed urgently to stem decay, confusion, intractable legal issues, poor management and resultant deaths of our citizens from the hands of businessmen.
 

“The repercussions of this concession facade also include erosion and eradication of pharmaceutical care and hospital pharmacy practice; blocking of new pharmacy entrants of Cross River State indigenes to be trained at internship and specialist level in government services in future.”
 

While noting that business firms were more profit-driven than specialist services, Agbulu opined that specialist hospital pharmaceutical care interventions had continued to save lives worldwide.