The Gombe State Commissioner for Health says the ministry has stepped up efforts to tackle the proliferation of unregistered clinics and pharmacy stores to enhance healthcare delivery in the state.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr Habu Dahiru, said this during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Gombe.
He condemned situations whereby patent and medicine stores were being converted into mini- clinics for consultation and for admission of patients in some areas.
He said that a committee had been set up to ensure compliance with the guidelines on the operation of pharmacies and medicine stores in the state.
He added that appropriate sanctions would be meted out to anybody found wanting.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Gov. Inuwa Yahaya had directed the closure of private colleges of health technology being operated in the state without accreditation by the appropriate agencies of government.
NAN also reports that the move was aimed at preventing such institutions from producing unqualified medical personnel that would be manning health facilities in the state.
Dahiru said that as part of the efforts of his administration to ensure delivery of quality healthcare services, it had agreed to look into the welfare of doctors, especially, their promotions and other emoluments.
He said that the government took the decision not only to enhance medical services but also to stop brain drain among medical personnel in the state.
He noted that the improvement in human resources was the number one component for service delivery in the healthcare sector.
He said that whatever facility or equipment that was provided in any health institutions would not be able to attain optimal services without the human resources to use it.
He said that the state government was currently constructing a new school of nursing that would accommodate between 600 and 1,000 student nurses.
He said that when completed, the school would help in boosting the number of qualified nurses and midwives in the health facilities in the state.
