Disturbed by the havoc being wreaked on the helpless people by quack medical personnel, Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke has called on doctors to join hands with goveenment in the battle to eradicate quackery.
He made this passionate appeal at the opening ceremony of the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the National Association of Government General Medical And Dental Practitioners (NAGMDP) in Osogbo, Osun State.
The Governor who was represented at the event by his Special Adviser on Public Health, Dr Akindele Adekunle outlined the enormous responsibilities placed on the shoulders of doctors in the society, stressing that quacks should be shut out of the association.
He said: “As professionals backed by laws and ordinances of your ethics, you have enormous responsibilities, the reach and the gavel to save lives even before the surgical knives in the theatre.
“More often is the fact that irreparable damages are done to the body system of victims of quackery before they are forced to your table. This I believe we must collaborate to bring to a halt in the country.
“While the government works round our notable challenges in proffering sustainable solutions, i urge this council on behalf of our people and as patients would always beckon on their physicians, to do everything within your professional reach to combat the menace of quackery in the system”.
Adeleke appreciated members of the association for the support his administration has enjoyed in offering their services during the Imole Free Medical Outreach of his administration aimed at giving life to people of the state who may be distressed with one ailments or the other.
“Let me use this opportunity to once again appreciate your colleagues in Osun State who have supported us in the immediate medical intervention by this administration tagged Imole Medical Outreach.
He announced: “With active support of your members, the third phase of the medical intervention will come up again in few weeks across the zones of the state with thousands of new beneficiaries already mapped out, up from over fifty-five thousand (55,000) residents who already benefitted from the last two phases.”
The governor highlighted his other interventions in the health sector of the state including enrollment of thousands of pensioners into Osun Health Insurance, and approval of total and comprehensive renovation of over 300 primary healthcare centres to prevent avoidable mortalities within the rural dwellers in the state.
He said his administration is working on coming up with a comprehensive approach to adequately addressing the challenges being faced by members of the association as he is aware their challenges go beyond his recent approval of Hazard allowances for medical practitioners in the state.
The Governor thereafter, declared open the annual conference of the association and launched a book on medical practice authored by a member of the association.
