Doctors Moves To Make Surgery And Anaesthesia Affordable
Nigeria Medical Doctors, under the agies of “Nigerian Society Of Anaesthetists”, has taking deliberate steps aimed at providing solutions to make surgery and anaesthesia affordable, available, timely and safe in the country.
This was stated at the 24th Nigerian Society Of Anaesthetists Scientific Conference, an Annual General Meeting, held in Jos the Plateau Capital.
The 5-day Conference which brought specialist doctors in anaesthesia in the country and beyond, converged to proffer solutions on surgical and anaesthesia care when needed.
In her welcome address, the President of the association, Dr. Bisola Onajin-Obembe, of the Department of Anaesthesiology, University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Rivers State, said that “a key finding of Lancet Commission on Global Surgery published in 2015 is that 5 billion people lack access to safe, affordable, surgical and anaesthesia care when needed.
“Most of these people reside in the poorest regions of the world; 93% of the population in sub-Sahara Africa and 97% of the population in South Asia do no have access to safe and affordable surgery and anaesthesia compared with 3.6% of the population who do not have access in high income countries”, she said.
Also, speaking with our correspondent is an Anaesthetists doctor with the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), Dr. Adanu Gabriel, he posited that the scope of anaesthesia goes beyond the administration of drugs to patients in surgical room but also includes the entire management of patients like offering critical care in an emergency room and intensive care unit; “so it extends to humanitarian service”, he said.
Gabriel call for government support in equipping hospitals across the county, as he decry the level of rot and lack of infrastructure in health care delivery.
