Dayo Ojerinde
The Lagos State Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency, HEFAMAA, has validated standards for the registration of health facilities in the state.
The head of public affairs, HEFAMAA, Mr Muyideen Uthman, in a statement on Thursday, said the agency recently held a four-day meeting to review and validate the basic standards for health facilities in the state.
The Executive Secretary of the Agency, Dr Abiola Idowu, in the statement, said the standards would serve as a benchmark to measure the services provided by health facilities and a framework for existing facilities to review and improve their service provision.
Idowu said, “In order to maintain the safety and quality of service to patients and provide an environment conducive for staff, these standards serve as a benchmark against which health services can be measured, and a framework for existing facilities to review and improve their service provision.”
The Executive Secretary said the agency was established by the state Health Sector Reform Law of 2006 with the mandate to regulate and improve the quality of health care delivery by setting the minimum standards and accrediting, inspecting, licensing and registering as well as evaluating health facility performance through monitoring visits and coordinating the collection and dissemination of data on performance indicators.
She added that the stakeholders at the four-day session reviewed and validated the draft standards for four categories of health facilities including Medical Laboratories, Dental facilities, Diagnostic and Multispecialty Diagnostic Centers. Each of the draft standards has several sections including Physical/Work Environment, Work Sections, Equipment and Equipment Maintenance, Guidelines, Infection Control and Medical Waste Management, Staff Complement, Record Keeping and Advertising.
“The standards are considered to be achievable for registration and are presented as ideal standards to which all health facilities and practitioners should aspire as part of their professional responsibility to both patients and staff, consistently maintaining effective and safe care,” Idowu said.
The Executive Secretary also said in addition to meeting the standards described above, all private health facilities in the state must possess Certificates of Incorporation issued by the Corporate Affairs Commission.
“The Operating Officer in charge must be a full-time practitioner with at least five years post-qualification experience; he must also have a valid license from the relevant regulatory body,” she added.
The Chairman, HEFAMAA Board, Dr. Yemisi Solanke-Koya, also stated that the validated standards would be used by the agency for the purposes of registration, inspection and monitoring of all health facilities in the state.
Solanke-Koya who was represented by a Board member, Mr. Abiodun Hamzat advised owners and operators of the facilities to adhere strictly to the standards to ensure quality delivery of healthcare services to the people.
