Akwa Ibom State, in conjunction with development partners, has commenced the distribution of 3.6 million Insecticide-Treated Nets worth N14 billion after it conducted a demonstration of the exercise in Ibesikpo Asutan local government area.
The commencement of the net distribution followed mass mobilisation campaign in which health workers visited households in the state to register them for the nets and to issue them net cards to qualify them for the insecticide treated nets to be distributed at health centres, schools and other market squares across the 31 local government areas of the state.
Speaking during the exercise, the wife of the governor, Martha Udom Emmanuel who is a net ambassador, lamented the “high degree of malaria-related illness in the state due to mosquito bites,” which she said had resulted in deaths, adding that the nets have been provided by the government and its partners “free of charge for the protection of the entire household.”
According to her, “We can protect ourselves from malaria by hanging and sleeping inside the insecticide-treated nets every night, saying “take your net card to the designated distribution points,’’ to redeem the nets and urged the people to “play their part for a malaria free Akwa Ibom State.’’
Speaking also, the Commissioner for Health, Augustine Vincent Umoh, thanked the state government and the partners for their contributions towards the elimination of malaria in the state, adding that in addition to the net distribution campaign, the state government has made huge investments in the health sector.
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Meanwhile, Umoh has expressed dismay over the poor attitude to work of health workers, saying it was high time they turned a new leaf.
It warned that any infraction on the rights of patients will be met with appropriate sanctions .He gave the warning while declaring open a four-day Customer Service Training for about 400 Doctors and Nurses in Uyo, the state capital adding that the poor attitude to work and the rude approach to patients seeking medical care had attracted negative reports and the attention of Governor Udom Emmanuel.
According to the commissioner, in addition to lateness to work and absence from to duty, some patients and relations had been victims of verbal abuse and insult from health workers , a situation, he said had invariably impelled some patients to seek care in private health facilities where they could be treated respect and friendly manner.
“This should not be so if workers abide by their professional ethics and Publics Service Rules,” he added.
He observed that the state government had invested heavily in the health sector over the past seven years as evident in the recruitment of health workers across the cadres, the renovation , remodelling and reconstruction of several hospitals as well as the re-equipping of the hospitals including electronic medical records, all geared towards providing a conducive working environment for workers patients.
Umoh pointed out that doctors and nurses who leave for greener pastures overseas that used to be rude to patients fall in line once thy secure jobs and perform creditably, hence keeping their jobs adding that the state government had in its magnanimity decided to give workers the benefit of doubt in the hope that erring ones would turn a new leaf.
He also explained that the essence of the seminar was to engender a paradigm shift in attitude towards a patient- centered approach in line with professional ethics, compassion and respect for the rights and dignity of the patient.
Besides, he maintained that the state government places high premium on human resource for health in which the workers were beneficiaries of the gesture which include: prompt and regular payment of salaries to workers , sponsoring of series of trainings to keep them abreast with advances of technology in line with global best practices.
The permanent secretary in the ministry , Patrick Essiet who corroborated that several complaints had been received at the health facilities wherewith the Ministry had to intervene to avoid litigations or loss of staff, stressed that the training was necessary to have a change of attitude from the workers.
Essiet implored the health workers to be good ambassadors in customer service and to endeavour to give good services to the public this Christmas.
The facilitator of the training from Consortium DCI, Olubosola Ogunlolu said the training would enable the workers to do their job professionally saying that in the health service, the patient remains the most important personality.
The training is attended by participants medical and health drawn from health facilities across Akwa Ibom State.
