‘Why we oppose creation of Surgeon General’s office’

This was disclosed over the weekend in Abuja at the end of a two-day workshop organised by the West African Health Sector Union’s Network (WAHSUN) and Public Services International (PSI) on the West African health sector and the promotion of quality healthcare in Nigeria. The Auditor of the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives […]

This was disclosed over the weekend in Abuja at the end of a two-day workshop organised by the West African Health Sector Union’s Network (WAHSUN) and Public Services International (PSI) on the West African health sector and the promotion of quality healthcare in Nigeria.
The Auditor of the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) Haruna Mandabs while answering questions from journalists at the event said the idea, which is practised in developed countries, is a good one if all professionals in the health sector are carried along.
“It is good for Nigerians to know the concept of this Surgeon General’s office. You say it is done in the west, it is done everywhere and we say we agree, it is done everywhere; just let us know how it will be done in Nigeria.
“You should also tell Nigerians that in the US for instance, the current SG is a nurse while the deputy is a pharmacist. But in Nigeria, everything is to the contrary, medical doctors want to capture everything and this engenders conflict in the system.”
He urged the government to be bold enough to explain the functions of the office, which he said in the US is mostly headed by a staff not more than a deputy director equivalent in Nigeria, and to explain if its headship  is open to all professionals in the sector.