…Makes case for children’s surgical care, training of frontline health workers
By Chioma Obinna
The Chief Medical Director of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Prof Chris Bode has called for the promotion of training of frontline health workers on early recognition and proper handling of paediatric surgical emergencies to improve the country’s surgical outcomes in children.
Bode who made the call during his inaugural Lecture Series 2022 at the University of Lagos, themed: “Bloom Where You Are Planted: From Paediatric Surgeon To Hospital Administration” said investment in the surgical care of children is a wise choice to ensure a healthy future for Nigeria.
According to Bode, “Children’s health should not be an afterthought to be grafted on the plan for adults.”
He said Nigeria needs children-specific hospitals which are fully dedicated to the care of children and surgical facilities in such centres will save the lives of many who have been denied access to and delayed surgical care in the country’s overburdened centres.
“Our country must decide who pays for healthcare. Healthcare is a goldmine for investors if properly configured.
“Universal coverage by the National Health Insurance Services with an appropriate price structure that ensures fair pay for work done by hospitals will allow Nigeria to retain its healthcare workforce and improve the facilities to international standards,” he added.
He posited that government would have ample tax returns from the sector if the right thing and investments are done properly.
Continuing, Bode in his 120-page lecture also stated that Nigeria must continue to invest in the training of specialists in the various specialties of surgery, put a plan in place to absorb them and nurture those they produce rather than allow them to be lured out by wealthier nations that can pay them more.
He further urged the government to boldly deregulate the funding of public university education and limit its role to overall policy formulation, giving grants to institutions, awarding scholarships, bursaries and loans to students while enabling public educational institutions to charge fair tuition for good training.
Also in his lecture, the professor of surgery also lamented what he described as too much of unionism in tertiary institutions, lamenting that the unions are still using 1970 Marxist ideologies to dictate how schools should run.
“We still refer to ourselves as ‘Comrades’ in 2022. Our unions should think outside the box and stop holding the educational and health sectors back from growing. Nothing good is free, especially in this unapologetic era of global capitalism.
“Our universities should wean themselves from government handouts and meaningfully interact with the town, industries, and grants authorities for better, healthier funding.
Productivity in our universities should mean more than a secure tenure while society waits for game-changing leadership from the ivory tower,” the Chief Medical Director stated.
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