Association of Nigeria Private Medical Practitioners (ANPMP), Lagos chapter is seeking the state government’s urgent intervention to bring to book an official of Health Facilities Monitoring and Accreditation Agency (HEFAMA) for meting out physical assault on one of her members.
Speaking at a press conference in Lagos, ANPMP state chairman, Makinde Akinlemibola alleged that the Executive Secretary of HEFAMA, Abiola Idowu who was part of the team that came on routine inspection to King Solomon Hospital in Anthony Village, physically assaulted the medical director and the laboratory manager of the clinic.
Explaining further Akinlemibola said: “Precisely on November 18, 2021, a team of HEFAMA officials led by the Executive Secretary, Abiola Idowu went to King Solomon hospital in Anthony Village, Lagos in what appeared to be unannounced routine monitoring and supervision exercise under the functions of HEFAMA.
“The medical director, a 73-year-old medical practitioner, Abiola Oladosu, out of courtesy opted to conduct the HEFAMA team around the facility. While performing the inspection and supervision of the medical facility, the ES, who is a medical doctor and not a laboratory scientist, alleged without basis, that the hospital laboratory was dirty and the medical equipment therein was not correctly calibrated.
“As the inspection was going on, the medical doctor for record purposes and the sake of transparency, asked the manager of the laboratory to record with his phone the supervision and monitoring so that corrections that may subsequently be specified and issued by the HEFAMA monitoring team would be correctly complied with.
“Curiously, upon noticing that the exercise was being recorded, the ES became uncomfortable, unnecessarily aggressive and violent to the laboratory manager.
“Specifically, without a reason, she snapped the mobile phone used for the recording out of the manager’s hand before proceeding to rain slaps on him.
“The medical director in an attempt to defuse the situation and avert further physical abuse was also assaulted by the HEFAMA team. The 73-year- old medical director with over 42 years of medical practice was slapped to the chagrin of his staff and the patients of the hospital who witnessed the ugly and embarrassing incident.”
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Describing the incident as the climax of all the harassment, intimidation and exploitation by the agency, he said it appeared that there was a deliberate attempt to stifle private medical practice and put them out of business.
He recalled that HEFAMA was the brainchild of private medical practitioners in Lagos in a bid to curb quackery adding, “the agency was commissioned with an enabling law by the government. This point becomes necessary to let the world know that doctors are not averse to regulations and standards to bring sanity into medical practice in Lagos.’’
