The Rivers State Ministry of Health says it has sealed six medical facilities in the state managed by unprofessionals and also used for alleged child trafficking.
Speaking with journalists in Port Harcourt, alongside his Anti-Quackery Committee members, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr. Vincent Wachukwu, said seven persons were arrested during investigations and visits to the facilities.
Wachukwu said the exercise is a continuation of the anti-quackery mandate of the Rivers State Ministry of Health, the state branch of the Nigerian Medical Association, and other healthcare affiliate associations in the fight against quackery across the state.
The permanent secretary explained that in their activities, they are trying to sanitise the health system in Rivers State, revealing that, “This fight has been on for the past 2 years and some months and we have made some very significant progress”.
He said, “We have seen a whole lot of hospitals, we have seen a whole lot of diagnostic centers. We have also tried and then we have arrested some of the operators of these facilities who are currently undergoing investigation and prosecution”.
Wachukwu, who expressed that the fight against quackery is strenuous, said, “As you fight, they fight back. It’s just like corruption. You fight corruption, corruption fights back. That is what is happening in the health sector. But by God’s grace, with your (media) support I believe we are winning the race”.
He disclosed that the anti-quackery committee embarked on some activities to identify and deal with some of the unwholesome practitioners in the state, saying that they are not just concerned about what is happening in Port Harcourt, but what is happening in the entire state as far as the health sector is concerned.
Speaking on the sealed facilities, Wachukwu said, “We have gone round from local government to local government outside Port Harcourt and Obio/Akpor and a few health facilities have been sealed. They are not being sealed just because they are not registered, but because of their quack practices.
“Some of them are identified by whistleblowers. Some are identified by neighbors who come to the ministry to report some unwholesome activities that go on in these facilities. And when you go further, you discover that most of these facilities are run by untrained and non-accredited medical practitioners.”
He mentioned the sealed facilities to include; PLARIV Hospital in Omoku, Good Shepherd Hospital (Omoku), Blessed Good News Clinic in Port Harcourt, Estate Clinic in Oklahoma Estate, Obio/Akpor, Patent Drug Shop in Ndele, Emohua, and Eldona Hospital, Elekahia in Obio/Akpor LGA.
It would be recalled that a team of police recently invaded Eldona Hospital in Elekahia, where the proprietor of the facility alongside other workers were arrested for child trafficking, and also operating without registration.
During the briefing, Dr. Wachukwu revealed that a 20-year-old secondary school female graduate died from quack medication in a Patent Drug Shop in Emohua.
“We also visited one patent drug store in Ndele. This one is a very serious case because the operator of this place is not trained and then a 20-year-old girl who just finished secondary school and is awaiting admission becomes victim.
“Now, unsuspecting or just seeing the place as a medical place, she went in and then the woman injected whatever she injected to her and this girl died. She died. And then the report came to us, we went there, sealed the place, arrested the people who were seen in the facility. But the operator was not on ground when we got there. We asked the community people to bring her.
“They have been calling but we are not going to relent. We will ensure that she is arrested and she is being prosecuted for committing, well, if I call it murder, I wouldn’t know if I am right but that is what she has done.”
The permanent secretary reiterated that every organisation, hospital, corporate body, NGO, religious body and individual that wishes to carry out free medical outreaches in the state must obtain permission and approval from the ministry before embarking on such.
He, however, thanked his committee members, the security agencies, especially the Nigerian Police, Civil Defence, and the media for their unwavering support towards the fight against quackery in the state.
Blessing Ibunge
