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.
“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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