Lagos Validates Policy To Boost Human Resource In Health Sector
Lagos Validates Policy To Boost Human
Resource In Health Sector
By Chioma Umeha
Lagos State government has validated the Human Resource for Health (HRH) Strategic Plan and Task Shifting Task Sharing (TSTS) Policy for the State which is meant to address dearth of human resources in health sector.
The document which is a five-year implementation
framework was developed by the State in partnership with Save the Children
(SCI); Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative 2 (NURHI2) and fhi360.
Dr. Jide Idris, the state Commissioner of
Health, who commended the development noted in his address that the new
framework will ensure adequate delivery of quality healthcare services in the
State
According to him, Lagos State has recognised
the central and strategic role of the health workforce in the provision of the
required manpower for the delivery.
The commissioner who was represented by
Moyosore Adejumo, the Director of Pharmaceutical Services, said: “This supports
the state in achieving its health goal aimed at the provision of quality
healthcare that is equitably accessible, effective, efficient and affordable.
“This goal will be achieved by developing,
improving, increasing and strengthening the health workforce with the
appropriate numbers, distribution, skill mix, knowledge, competence and
motivation to deliver health care services with the greater level of
efficiency,” he said.
Idris added: “The Lagos State government has
once more by the articulation of this HRH Strategic Plan 2018-2022 demonstrated
its commitment and resolves to invest in the process of strengthening and
improving the current health workforce and prepares the enabling environment
for the future pool of health workers.
“Lagos state has over the years improved
available evidence for its planning and management purpose. For the development
of this HRH strategic plan, the Ministry of Health working with its partners
have complied comprehensive evidence on the HRH situation. A multi sectoral
approach has been instituted for the development, coordination and management
of HRH in Lagos,” the Lagos Ministry of Health boss said.
Concerning the implementation, Idris
however, assured that leadership commitment would be provided to ensure that
priorities, targets, objectives and interventions are met.
“These will support the achievement of
health outcomes as well as other health reform initiatives by the current
administration,” he said, adding that the HRH strategy plan would be reviewed
periodically to ensure consistency in the delivery of its aspiration and its
appropriateness to the evolving HRH realities in state.
He also said that efforts would be situated
to ensure the integration of planning process for health workforce with the
health components alongside service delivery.
“The health component of the Lagos State
Development Plan will be emphasized to ensure the achievement of its targets
and deliverables through a strengthened Health workforce. This HRH strategic
plan is the second of its kind and will build on the achievement of the current
plan to expire in 2017,” Idris said.
The Commissioner further noted that that in
Nigeria, Human Resource for Health shortage and inadequate skill distribution
are the major determinant in the delivery of quality health care services.
He also observed, the increasing population
of Lagos State has reduced the health worker to patient ratio resulting in the
shortage of health workers across all cadres.
The Commissioner however assured that the
ministry of health is dedicated to the Task Shifting Task Sharing policy for
essential health services and will take suitable steps to adapt the policy for
implementation with a view to achieving universal health coverage and the
sustainable development goals.
On his part, Adejumo further explained in an
interview that with the policy, persons who are seeking for health will be
better served.
Giving details, he said that this is because
some of those responsibilities which are appropriately shared to sub cadres of
the main professional group will be better available to clients who are seeking
health.
“Clients would not be turned away. On the
other side of the coin, those professionals would be better enabled by virtue
of the fact that they will not be overwhelmed by so many patients who want to
see the core professionals.
“Some of those duties or responsibilities
can be shared so that the doctors, nurses, pharmacists and laboratory
scientists will not be overwhelmed,” she said.
Dr Opeyemi Odedere, Save the Children
representative, told INDEPENDENT that
the five-year plan has articulated activities and generated indicators that
would be monitored based on implementation strategy for the HRH policy of the
State.
Odedere said; “The plan demonstrates the
commitment of the state in ensuring an enabling environment for the future pool
of health workers in the state. This would eventually strengthen the current
health work force.
“These will support the achievement of
health outcomes as well as other health reform initiatives by the state
government.”
He added that TSTS was conceived
as a result of shortages in human resources and inadequate skill distribution
within the health system.
Similarly, Dr. Edun Omasanjuwa,
representative of NURHI 2, described the TSTS as a policy that ensures that
there is enough human resource to go around; to provide the essential services
that are required at the facility level in such a way that client and patients
are able to access essential primary healthcare services regardless of whether
the primary provider of that services is available.
“If a superior officer is not available at
the time of needs, the sub cadre or junior officer staff can provide that
services that they have been adequately trained, monitored and certified to
provide under supervision,” Omasanjuwa said.
Akaoma Onyemelukwe, a lead consultant to the
project, said: “Today we had to validate the HRS strategic plan which is a five
year implementation plan that translates what were the findings from the
situation analysis into action.
“This strategic plan can only work if it is
well resourced and if the investment on HRH is increased in terms of budgetary
and non-budgetary allocations and funding.
“This plan actually talks about eight
priority areas. One of which is communications and connectivity in the HRH which
is the information system for human resources and also the workforce plan which
is the bane of the plan,” she explained.
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