Sat. Feb 8th, 2025

From TCNEWS

In a decisive move to enhance healthcare standards, the Abia State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Enoch Ogbonnaya Uche, inaugurated a Healthcare Facility Regulating Committee on January 28, 2025, at the Abia State Secretariat complex in Umuahia. 

The initiative aims to eradicate quackery within the medical profession across the state.

The newly formed committee is tasked with the registration, credentialing, and classification of healthcare facilities, including hospitals, clinics, laboratories, and pharmaceutical outlets. It will also oversee the regulation of food and beverage vendors to ensure public health safety.

Prof. Uche emphasized the importance of establishing basic standards for healthcare services, stating, “We must enforce qualifications and conditions for practice to prevent unqualified facilities from operating beyond their capacity.”

 He further mandated that all hospitals submit monthly treatment records, with plans to transition to a digital system for real-time tracking.

Addressing the proliferation of substandard mortuaries, Prof. Uche announced that the committee would regulate these services, closing any that fail to meet established standards.

 Additionally, the committee will set registration fees and enforce payments to boost the state’s Internally Generated Revenue.

The Commissioner highlighted the need for a digital coding system for easy identification of registered facilities and proposed that operational guidelines be developed into a bill for legislative approval. 

Dr. Ifeyinwa Blossom Uma-Kalu, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, urged the committee to work collaboratively to achieve the administration’s goals swiftly. 

The meeting concluded with the formal inauguration of the committee, chaired by Dr. Borke Okwale and co-chaired by Dr. Princess Orieji Agomoh, alongside other key health officials.

By NWAMARA

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