Uduaghan, Ccsn Bemoate State Critical Care In Nigeria

Former Governor of Delta State Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan has bemoaned the state of critical care in the country, stating that 43 years after the first Intensive Care Unit, ICU, was established in Nigeria, critical care in the country is still in its infancy.
Uduaghan, who acknowledged that critical care is expensive anywhere in the world said less than 7 percent budgetary allocation committed to healthcare was very low compared to the World Health Organisation, WHO, 15 percent recommendation. Uduaghan spoke in Lagos, during the Annual General Meeting/Scientific Conference of the Critical Care Society of Nigeria, CCSN, with the theme: “Challenges of Critical Care in Nigeria”. The erstwhile Governor said as a way out, there is need for the country to urgently go into Private –Public- Partnership, PPP, model to ensure that challenges of critical care services which includes, inadequate training, and maintenance of equipment among others are dully taken care of. “There is need to increase manpower development, level of awareness on basic resuscitations among health workers.” He urged practitioners to network with patients at the primary levels. Uduaghan identified inadequate training, lack of infrastructure, poor maintenance of equipment among others as ICU challenges. He stressed the need for the country to pursue critical care through effective healthcare financing. Corroborating his views, a Critical Care Physician and Secretary, CCSN, Dr Kingsley Tobi said Nigeria is below standard in terms of critical care. “Critical care in Nigeria can be best described as still in its infancy. There are a lot to do in terms of funding, training, equipment and we are still at the very low ebb. Tobi, who is also a Consultant Anaesthetist, scored Nigerian government low on responses to critical care. According to him, if the country must move forward, the government must redirect national budgetary allocation to critical care not just to health sector. “We need to integrate critical care to NHIS. Few hospitals that run it charge exorbitantly, so very few patients’ access care. “As an expert, it is very frustrating when you know what to do and you don’t have what you need to do it. One of the worst thing that can happen to a critical care physician is when you know that you could salvaged a patient but because you are handicapped either by equipment not available or by drugs not available, or no bed space, it is terrible

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