The Health Facilities Monitoring and Accreditation Agency (HEFAMAA) has outsourced its monitoring of health facilities in Lagos State to eight reputable private organisations.
The Chairman of the Governing Board, Dr Yemisi Solanke-Koya, stated that the monitoring would commence immediately with a six-month pilot phase, which, according to her, “will be reviewed for better delivery at the end of June 2023.”
She explained that the objective of the outsourcing is to increase the monitoring coverage of health facilities to ensure improved quality of healthcare delivery to the residents of the state, adding that the private organisations, who were selected following a due procurement process will monitor both the public and private health facilities in the local councils assigned to each of them.
While emphasising the importance of capacity building, Solanke-Koya disclosed that the agency organised a 3-day comprehensive training for the franchisees in December 2022. This, she said, was followed by joint assessment field visits to health facilities on the 20th and 21st of December 2022.
She, however, added that HEFAMAA officers will continue to work with the private organizations whom she said include E-clat Health Care Limited, SPC Patterns Consulting, Realms Health Care Consulting Services, IFS Healthcare, McOlivia Consulting Limited, AOI Training and Consulting Limited, Insight Health Consulting and Vhelar Consulting Limited, in January 2023 to ensure a seamless handover of the monitoring activities.
In her remarks, the Executive Secretary of the agency, Dr Abiola Idowu enjoined hospitals and other categories of health facilities across the state to access the Health Facility Inspection Tool on the HEFAMAA website at hefamaa.lagosstate.gov.ng, to do self-assessment for their facilities and upgrade their operations in the sections where they score low marks.
She emphasised that the private organizations are expected to submit their assessment reports daily as the reports, she said, would be reviewed by the agency for intervention when necessary.
On what the monitors will be doing, Idowu said, “Let me assure you that our officers will continue to carry out inspection of new facilities for registration purposes, assessment of facilities for empanelment into the Health Insurance Scheme, investigation of petitions and complaints from the public as well as enforcement of the law.
She commended the Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who, she said, approved the relocation of the agency to its present spacious office aside from supporting the laudable initiative to improve the quality of health care delivery to the citizens.
