The Interview Editors
The managing director of Paelon Memorial Hospital, Lagos, Dr. Ngozi Onyia, has disclosed that her hospital has treated up to 1, 766 COVID-19 patients.
She also revealed that they had, so far, also lost 23 of those patients to the raging pandemic.
Onyia, who spoke at the ongoing Virtual Plenary Session and Annual General Meeting of the Paediatric Association of Nigeria (PAN) in Lagos on Friday noted that the country’s healthcare system had been plagued with many issues that stood as threats in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic.
She explained that while 1,608 of the patients were out-patients, 158 had to be admitted.
She said the major threats of health workers managing the patients included burn-out, exhaustion, high infections among staff, and over-regulation without clear guidance from government.
Other threats, she said, were lack of adequate and equitable access and unsustainable out-of-pocket payments for patients.
Onyia, who is also a consultant paediatrician, urged the government to engage in public-private partnerships, increase uptake of health insurance, reduce brain drain and encourage local private investment in healthcare to manage the current situation.
