[ad_1]
In Nigeria, health services are delivered through primary, secondary and tertiary health facilities by both the public and private sectors. Although primary health care is the fulcrum of the Nigerian health system, the provision, financing and management of primary health care services, as well as secondary health care services, leaves much to be desired.
Certain services are not generally available to a large percentage of the population. There is consistent disruption of health care services, due to incessant industrial action by all cadres of health care providers in public facilities. Even though the private sector has played a vital role in making health services available, there is still poor integration of the private sector in the Nigerian health system.
Many health facilities are situated far away from the people, especially in rural and hard to reach areas. The most common barriers to accessing health services by the population are the cost of services, distance to the health facility, and the attitude of health workers.
The quality of health services is generally poor and does not instill confidence in the people. This has led to some people seeking care outside the country, or bypassing the primary and secondary health facilities to seek health care at tertiary health institutions. Competence in the diagnosis and management of clinical illnesses is disproportionate, while adherence to clinical guidelines is low.
Even where quality may be high, the perception of service users may not correlate with the actual quality of care delivered. These may be due to the poor attitude of health workers, lack of clarity of standards and protocols, as well as inadequate implementation of these guidelines and other regulations. A growing problem to access healthcare is the shortage of health professionals across the nation. Maintaining the healthcare workforce is fundamental to providing access to quality healthcare.
The question here is, what are the government doing about the cost of service, the lack of health facilities in mostly the rural areas, the attitude of the health workers, lack of professional health workers etc. There is a difference in the cost of services in all health facilities due to the economy, it is now expensive and very hard for the average and below average Nigerians to get proper health care services from a professional health care worker.
Another barrier in accessing healthcare services is distance. Some remote villages have one or no health facility and even if they have one, it’s mostly situated far from the people which can discourage people from going there for a proper health care service.
Another barrier is poor healthcare services either by lack of equipment, lack of essential drugs or vaccines, lack of professional healthcare workers etc. Some health facilities lack equipment for surgeries, taking care of admitted patients etc. Some healthcare workers also have poor communications skills with their patients which is bad, they’re supposed to be able to communicate well with their patience no matter the situation.
According to the commentary on the National Health Policy 2016, health system is divided into 10 key areas which are; governance and stewardship, health service delivery, health financing, human resources for health, medicines, vaccines, other health technologies, health infrastructure, health information system, health research and development, health promotion, community participation and ownership and partnership for health.
All these 10 key areas are created for one goal which is to improve the healthcare system through funds, making available medicines, vaccines and other technologies. In my opinion, if the government could increase the funds given to the health sector and also monitor the funds till it gets to the final destination required, it could really help to improve our health sector and also reduce the way our politicians travel to other countries for treatment, instead they could do whatever they want to do regarding their health in this country.
Chiamaka writes from the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) Abuja.
Related
[ad_2]
Source link
