As part of a policy to rid the state of unhealthy medical practices, the Edo State Government has shut down no fewer than 108 healthcare facilities.
Dr Samuel Alli, the State Commissioner for Health, who disclosed this on Thursday in Benin City while speaking on Healthcare Regulations in the state, said the facilities were shutdown after several warnings.
Alli said the facilities were shutdown for unsafe medical practices, practicing beyond approved scope, using of unqualified personnel as well as unregistered facilities.
He said the exercise which commenced on August 2023 affected 33 medical laboratories, 10 hospitals, 11 nursing homes, 26 community pharmacies and 28 patent medicine stores.
The commissioner, who alleged that unhealthy healthcare practices had been going on in the state for years, however vowed that such unwholesome acts would no longer be tolerated by the state government.
He explained that the state government has commenced the registration of all healthcare facilities digitally with Geographic information System (GIS) mapping, urging facility owners to take advantage and register.
“If your facility is not on our portal and found to be operating we will have no choice but to seal it after warning.
“We have had to close down a number of facilities practicing beyond their scope after warning. These facilities operate with impunity and deviate from their areas of practice,” he said.
Alli also disclosed that the Ministry had discovered several unsafe practices which constitute danger to the people of the state.
He listed some of the unsafe practices to include unsafe abortion, use of expired drugs, improper waste disposal, unclean and improper environment and ill-equipped theaters.
The commissioner, while urging medical professionals to maintain highest level of medical ethics and standards to ensure that all residents in the state are safe, however threatened to arrest and prosecute any violators of the regulations of the Ministry.
He also decried the high rate at which owners of health facilities engage unqualified personnel such as auxiliary nurses, among others.