Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has directed that N200 million be released to two federal health facilities – Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi Araba, and Federal Medical Centre, Ebute Metta to strengthen their COVID-19 case management.
The grant is specifically to ramp up the capacity of the federal isolation centres in Lagos to efficiently manage and cure infections from all identified COVID-19 variants.
This announced in the latest update by Governor Sanwo-Olu on how his administration is responding to COVID-19 cases in Lagos State. Lagos has been and remains the epicentre of the disease since its outbreak in Nigeria in February 2020.
LUTH will get N150 million from the N200 million while N50 million goes to FMC Ebute Metta.
The state government also announced that its isolation centre situated in the Gbagada General Hospital would now be transformed into fee-paying private wards. The move, Sanwo-Olu said, was in response to the growing requests from patients and families willing to pay for personalised care in government-run facilities, while also protecting their privacy.
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Payable fee for the private treatment, the governor noted, would be moderately lower than charges at licenced private hospitals. Sanwo-Olu also said the state-owned treatment centre at Infectious Disease Hospital (IDH), Yaba, would continue to offer high-quality treatment to all persons, free of charge.
“In view of the rising profile of the coronavirus disease due to the mutating variants now being discovered globally, and to shore up our containment and management capacity, I have approved the sum of N200 million to support the ongoing patient management and treatment efforts in two Federal Government’s treatment centers in our state. To this end, LUTH will be receiving the sum of N150 million and the FMC Ebute Metta will be receiving N50 million. These sums will be disbursed today, February 1.
“Also, in response to the growing clamour by patients and families who are willing to pay for COVID-19 treatment but would like to do so at a cost that is lower than is currently obtainable at private facilities, Lagos State government is making efforts to transform the state-owned isolation center in Gbagada into a fee-paying facility that people can elect to be treated at. While the treatment facility in Yaba will continue to offer free and high-quality treatment to all persons, Gbagada isolation centre will offer treatments at a moderated and affordable cost to those who wish to take advantage of extra offerings like private treatment rooms and more personalised levels of care.”
He explained that despite that oxygen demand had spiked from 300 cylinders to 400 cylinders per day across state-owned treatment facilities; the state government would not charge patients who receive oxygen.
The governor said Lagos was working hard to ensure oxygen supply met and surpass the demand, disclosing that the state was on the verge of delivering its second oxygen plant at the Gbagada General Hospital. The new plant will be ready in the next seven days.
Sanwo-Olu said when the COVID-19 vaccines are finally delivered to Lagos in the coming days, distribution priorities would be accorded to frontline workers, persons with co-morbidities, essential workers and the elderly who are within the age bracket of 50 to over 65 years.
“The government will keep the integrity of the vaccines intact along the entire supply and distribution chain, while also ensuring approved dosages are complied with. The state will follow up on possible post-vaccination adverse event; the monitoring strategy will be diligently followed in line with protocols of pharmaceutical public safety,” he said.
