Looking at the economic situation in the country, Ashraf, a medical doctor and co-founder of Ashiraaf Hospital, has said that the hospital is not purely a business venture; there is also a human side.
He stated this while interacting with BusinessDay on Friday in Lokoja, pointing out that the right to choose a hospital depends on the services rendered, saying, ‘This is me speaking for all the private hospitals in the state’.
‘You find out that in a private setting, there is a business side to it. It is natural that services rendered in private hospitals may not be the same as in government hospitals.
‘Some patients make the choice based on general perception, and it has to do with the sentiment they have about doctors.
‘Private hospitals are not purely a business venture; there is also a human side. Lokoja is not such a big place where they pay before services are rendered. But when you are faced with a situation where the patient is unable to pay, they sign a document which will help them to pay. It is not easy for the masses, nor is it easy for the hospital, but this is how we have been doing it’.
Speaking on doctors diverting patients to private hospitals, he said it is difficult to completely erase it, and it is difficult to say its truth, because it is the patient that will make the choice.
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On quackery, Ashraf pointed out that the government has a lot to do about that, saying certain factors in a community encourage quackery. Sometimes non availability of basic amenities, roads, and water. Health personnel contribute to what fuels it.
‘My personal advice is that the government should strengthen the aspect of the Ministry of Health that caters for quackery in the medical profession, and they should empower them so that such practice is clamped down on. Because if they don’t do that, it will increase the need for commutable diseases that come to the hospital; they will increase the number of morbidity we find in our patients; they will increase the money the patient has to spend. They will increase the work our hospital has to do’.
He urged the state government to employ more personnel in the ministry so that it will be easy to address the issue of quackery in the state and Nigeria, adding that private sectors don’t have much work to do except medical awareness and health education because they don’t have the power to impose certain laws in the country. Governments are the ones that should provide the laws or enforce the laws.
On the issue of counterfeit drugs, he pointed out that it has really affected the health sector in the country for a long time; sadly, the situation is getting worse by the day. This is because there are more people going into the business of producing counterfeit drugs, and because of the economic situation, people tend to buy the cheaper ones.
‘It is difficult for us to detect counterfeits, so for hospitals to go for quantity, they have to be careful. It is better to go to the companies that manufacture it. But when it comes to detecting counterfeit drugs, NAFDAC, SON, and other relevant agencies are to help us in detecting counterfeit drugs and also raise awareness in rural areas. We can only decide not to buy certain drugs when we notice they are counterfeit.
‘The government has to let us know the drugs that we should stay away from. If the government plays its part by dictating counterfeit drugs, health personnel will tell patients, and their circulation will reduce, and eventually these people will run out of business. If everyone plays their part, it will help the masses to get the proper medication for their ailment’.