The Oyo State government has appealed to residents, especially rural dwellers, to access quality and affordable healthcare through functional Primary Healthcare Centre PHC, facilities in the state.
The state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Bode Ladipo, made the call while launching the maintainance manual for the facilities in Ibadan, on Monday.
Dr. Ladipo said that Oyo State government has put in some resources to facilitate the upgrade of PHCs in the state.
He said that the essence of the step was to make sure each political ward has a viable healthcare centre, adding that about 210 of these PHCs were renovated in Governor Makinde’s first tenure, while other PHCs will be completed to make up the remaining 351 PHCs.
Ladipo, who said thay the Oyo State government is aware of the manpower shift from this clime to more economically buoyant climes, added that the government has started looking inward to shore up resources that will ensure it meets the needs of practitioners.
Dr. Ladipo reiterated the commitment of the state government to maintain all the healthcare facilities in the state.
He said that there is the need to ensure that the facilities put together outlasts the present administration.
Ladipo said that for this reason, the Oyo State government has put a small manual together for the maintenance of the new facilities.
Speaking earlier, the Special Adviser on Health and Chairperson PHC Renovation Steering Committee, Dr Funmi Salami, said that the maintenance handbook is vital, as a “good maintenance culture will extend the life of the infrastructure we are setting up in Oyo State.”
She reiterated the state government’s commitment to deliver on its mandate of quality healthcare to all citizens of Oyo State through the renovation of the 351 primary health care centers – one PHC per ward – across the state to Category 3 PHCs.
She added, “A Category 3 PHC has about 13 rooms with portable water and electricity.
“Maintaining the PHCs in a proactive manner is critical to their functionality and longevity. This maintenance manual will assist in ensuring that end users regularly perform preventative maintenance.”
Addressing the shortage of healthcare workers in the country due to brain drain and other factors, she said that the committee has a mandate to think outside the box to staff PHCs.
She said that decisions have been reached on how to provide staffing for the PHCs on short, medium and long term.
Stakeholders at the event include: Special Assistant on Environment (Technical Lead of Governor’s PHC Renovation Steering Committee), Engr. Ademola Aderinto; Permanent Secretaries, Ministries of Health and Local Government; ALGON Chairman, Hon. Sikiru Sanda; ALGON executives; Executive Secretary, Primary Healthcare Board, Dr. M.B Olatunji; Executive Secretary, OYISHA, Dr. Sola Akande; WDC zonal chairmen; local government medical officers; Provost, College of Nursing and Midwifery; Provost College of Health Science and Technology.
