AS part of measures to check quackery in the healthcare sector in the state, the Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency (HEFAMAA) will on Monday, November 8, 2021 begin Operation Show Your License / Certificate of Registration by health facilities in the state.
The Executive Secretary of the agency, Dr Abiola Idowu, disclosed that the Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi gave a directive to the agency to verify the licenses of both public and private health facilities in the state.
She explained that based on the directive, the agency has slated Monday, 8th November 2021 as the commencement date. She, therefore, warned that all health facilities in the state, both public and private should present the licenses of all healthcare workers and their certificate of registration to the agency’s monitoring staff for verification or risk sanctions.
Idowu, who spoke today in her office at CBD, Alausa-Ikeja, warned that the agency will not accept a situation where health facilities operate in the state without proof of registration or licenses for their healthcare workers, with the agency maintaining that such action is contrary to the provisions of the 2006 Health Sector Reform Law.
She affirmed that the agency will strive to ensure that facilities across the State operate within the confines of the law as well as deliver quality health care to Lagosians.
“On the directive of the Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi, starting from Monday, our monitoring staff will visit public and private health facilities in the state to, amongst the routine responsibilities of the agency verify their licenses to ascertain they are operating legally,” she explained.
She added that all existing healthcare facilities in the state are required by law to renew their registration annually adding that it is mandatory for new facilities to register with the agency before commencing operations to safeguard the health of the citizenry.
She reiterated the need for owners of facilities in the state to take advantage of the HEFAMAA e-portal to complete their registration and renewal and also keep abreast of the programmes and activities of the agency.
In her remarks, HEFAMAA Board Chairman, Dr. Yemisi Solanke Koya explained that the initiative is not a witch-hunting exercise, “rather it is in furtherance of our public protection mandate, HEFAMAA through the verification exercise seeks to ensure that the health facilities in state are strictly complying with the law,” she explained.
