Lagos Assembly seeks upgrade of 5 general hospitals

The Lagos House of Assembly has sought for the upgrade of five general hospitals to tertiary health institutions in the five divisions of the state.

The lawmakers made the resolution on Monday after deliberating on a report submitted by the chairman of the House Committee on Health Services, Olusola Sokunle.

Sokunle identified the five affected general hospitals as those in Badagry, Alimosho, Ikorodu, Epe and Lagos Island.

He said that the committee visited all the general hospitals across the state to determine the ones that could be upgraded to tertiary level.

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Sokunle stated that the upgrade of the general hospitals had become necessary, as it would reduce the pressure on the facilities of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH).

The lawmaker also called for the establishment of Renal and Neuro Department in the affected hospitals and the overhaul of primary health centres (PHCs) by the state government.

He said: “Local governments should intensify awareness and sensitisation on the usefulness of the centres in their respective councils.

“The land mass, high tech equipment, and quality of the medical personnel are part of the considerations before the five general hospitals were chosen.”

Contributing to the debate in the report, Wahab Jimoh (Apapa II) said that there was a need to consider other general hospitals within the Lagos Island division.

Jimoh said that the affected general hospitals should be picked outside Lagos Island, where there are enough general hospitals.

Another lawmaker, Mojisola Meirada (Apapa I) also argued that aside from the establishment of a renal department in the upgraded general hospitals, there should also be a trauma and bone department in each of them.

Mairada, who is the Chief Whip, said it would also help in reducing the pressure on Gbagada Hospital’s trauma facility.

Also speaking, Moshood Oshun (Lagos Mainland II), made a case for the establishment of more general hospitals across the state.

Oshun said that instead of converting the five hospitals to tertiary health facilities, more should be established to enhance easy accessibility by the residents.

He argued that the funds that could be used to upgrade the hospitals could be channeled toward establishing new general hospitals within the local governments.

However, the assembly speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, said that the glory of the five general hospitals should be sustained by upgrading them to tertiary level.

Obasa stressed the need for creating synergy among the general hospitals and collating data to determine whether or not the renal specialist hospital should be established to address renal diseases in the state.