The Lagos State Health Management Agency (LASHMA) has partnered with PharmAccess Foundation, to expand SafeCare, an internationally accredited quality improvement methodology to all empanelled private health facilities.
The development was build on several years of collaboration between the LASHMA and PharmAccess Foundation on the adoption and implementation of SafeCare standards in all general hospitals (GHs) and some primary healthcare centers (PHCs) in the state.
Ade Alakija, chairman, board of LASHMA, said the implementation of SafeCare standards across all health facilities was in line with the agency’s mandate to achieve UHC in Lagos State, by improving key health indices through quality healthcare delivery.
According to him, the Lagos State Health Scheme (LSHS) Quality Improvement Program will help the State achieve distinction in health service delivery and elevate the impact of the scheme. It will also explore different dimensions of quality; employ best practices and a proven technical approach to guarantee systemic results across the whole spectrum of the LSHS operations.
“While we are working hard to ensure more Lagosians are enrolled in the Scheme and more healthcare providers empaneled, we want to reinforce our achievemsnts so far by ensuring that every resident of this great state enrolled on the health insurance scheme, irrespective of their location and status, can enjoy the highest attainable standard of health,” Alakija said at during the launch of LSHS Quality Improvement Program held in Lagos.
The patients in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) like Nigeria often lack access to quality health services due to infrastructural gaps, shortage of skilled human resources, inadequate financing for health, and poor insurance coverage.
According to the 2019 Lancet Quality Commission, the quality eclipsed access as a driver of survival, as about 60 percent of deaths are due to poor quality care, compared to 40 percent from lack of access.
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As the centre of excellence, Lagos State Health Scheme (LSHS) popularly called ‘Ilera Eko’ was therefore launched for all Lagos residents in a bid to achieving universal health coverage, (UHC).
This new partnership between LASHMA and PharmAccess to implement SafeCare standards across hospitals within the state will help to optimise the quality of services provided to Ilera Eko enrollees, BusinessDay learnt.
On her part, Njide Ndili, country director of PharmAccess Foundation, represented by the Ibironke Dada, program director, SafeCare, commended LASHMA management for seeking technical assistance to institutionalise quality in the LSHS network of health facilities, especially private health providers.
She said the Lagos State Ministry of Health adopted SafeCare standards for the Lagos State Health Scheme in 2018, noting that even before the take-off of the scheme, some public hospitals had started implementing SafeCare in 2017. However, that was not the case in the private sector.
“So, what LASHMA has done today is unprecedented, because a government agency is paying for private health providers to join the Quality Improvement Program of the State. And we all should appreciate LASHMA for her ingenuity and dedication to promoting a culture of quality improvement in both public and private health facilities serving LSHS enrollees,” Ndili said.
