Monday, June 15, 2009
Eko Free Health Mission In Ajegunle
By Kazeem Ugbodaga
The Lagos state government is to screen at least 20,000 Lagosians on various ailments, as it kicks-off its five-day free health mission today, at the Ajeromi-Ifelodun Local Government.
Lagosians will be screened on diverse ailments, including dental, general and eye surgeries. The state government said it would deploy its recently procured “Field Hospital” to further compliment the objective of ensuring the accessibility of qualitative healthcare to the people of the state at no cost to beneficiaries. The state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, who disclosed this at the weekend, said the Eko Free Health Mission would be held at Araromi Primary School, Achakpo Road, Ajegunle, in the Ajeromi/Ifelodun Local Government Area of the state.
Idris described the Field Hospital as a standard hospital on wheel that could provide on-the-spot emergency services and relief management to complement the Eko Free Health Mission by taking off the overwhelming pressure on the hospitals where the Free Health Missions are held without disrupting the day-to-day regular hospital operations. He explained that the Field Hospital also has the capacity to undertake different types of surgeries, including eye surgery such as cataract and glaucoma; routine surgeries such as herniorraphy lipon, appendisectomy; paediatric surgeries and emergency surgeries such as entopic in pregnancy, among others.
The commissioner explained further that there were six basic components of the Field Hospital which include a standard theatre and six inflatable tents that serve as emergency/examination sections; pre-operation section; recovery/intensive care unit, equipped with three beds; registration and laboratory section; medical supplies and in-patient ward that can accommodate 20 patients. He stressed that with the deployment of the Field Hospital, ”more people are expected to benefit from the Mission this time around.”
He disclosed that the quest to find ways to take health care to the grassroots and under-served areas of the state led to the introduction of the Eko Free Health Mission, adding that ”the Mission is a comprehensive healthcare initiative that covers primary, secondary and tertiary levels of prevention.” Idris said the Mission is significant because it will assist the state government in its efforts to bring to the barest minimum, the number of untimely deaths in the state, particularly as the beneficiaries of the programme include the most vulnerable part of the population at the grassroots like the elderly, children, youth and pregnant women who are prone to infections and other related diseases.