Pharmacists back Lawmakers on Bill to reconstitute Teaching Hospital Boards

The Clinical Pharmacists Association of Nigeria has commended the recent move by the Federal House of Representatives to pass a bill that would reconstitute the governing boards of Federal University Teaching Hospitals.

A statement issued by CPAN National Chairman, Dr. Joseph Madu, disclosed that the proposed bill is long overdue, stressing that it should not be delayed anymore.

Tagged ‘A Bill for an Act to amend the University Teaching Hospitals (Reconstitution of Boards etc.) Act Cap U15 LFN 2004’, the proposed legislation, sponsored by Hon. Bamidele Salam, representing Ede North/Ede South/Egbedore/Ejigbo Federal Constituency of Osun state, seeks to restructure the composition of the governing boards of tertiary health institutions to make them more vibrant and efficient.

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The bill, which had passed the second reading, also seeks to include pharmacists, nurses, laboratory scientists and other medical professionals in the board of tertiary hospitals.

According to Madu, the current legal regime which serves as a guide for the appointment of leaderships into tertiary hospitals has done more harm than good.

“The level of the unheard-of rivalry in our health care team is mainly because of the current laws guiding the appointment of the headship of our tertiary health institutions.

“The laws have done nothing but promote disharmony, and the end result has been Nigeria’s very poor health index, as well as very low life expectancy in the country,” he said.

Madu noted that it has become a trend for certain health care practitioners to threaten strike whenever fellow health professionals in other disciplines are promoted or appointed to a higher cadre in the health sector.

“We need to borrow a leaf from countries where things are working well. In those countries, headship is situational and based on competence. 

“It is not the birthright of any particular professional as our laws have made it seem in the past decades. This is because the job of the head of a hospital is purely administrative.

“The bill will undoubtedly end interdisciplinary rivalry and disharmony within our tertiary health care institutions. It is in tandem with international best practices as seen in many countries like the UK, the US, France, etc,” he said.