Minister orders hospitals to comply with checklist for surgical safety

The minister issued the directive during a meeting with the Forum of Chairmen of Boards of Federal Tertiary Institutions in his office in Abuja.The minister, who likened the WHO checklist to the safety checklist observed by pilots before the takeoff of an aircraft, said it improves the safety of surgery by reducing complications and deaths.He […]

The minister issued the directive during a meeting with the Forum of Chairmen of Boards of Federal Tertiary Institutions in his office in Abuja.
The minister, who likened the WHO checklist to the safety checklist observed by pilots before the takeoff of an aircraft, said it improves the safety of surgery by reducing complications and deaths.
He recalled the dismissal of some consultants and resident doctors in some federal hospitals for negligence, saying that if the checklist is used as a standard procedure in hospitals, the unfortunate incidences that led to the sack of the doctors would have been avoided.
The minister lamented that most of the criticisms against the Federal Ministry of Health arise from the situations in the hospitals, and mandated the forum to take necessary actions to ensure President Goodluck Jonathan’s vision for health.
He thanked them for steps already taken in that direction, and charged them to do more to make our hospitals attractive to Nigerians.
Prof. Chukwu listed critical areas of intervention such as environmental hygiene, out-of-stock syndrome in pharmacies, long waiting time and quality of services to patients.
Earlier in his speech, the Chairman of the Forum of Boards of Federal Tertiary Institutions, Colonel Austin Akobundu (rtd) said the forum could be an instrument for action driven health policies for Nigeria.