No Private Hospital Accredited To Treat COVID-19 - Health Minister
- Lagos Diaspora
- Apr 19, 2020
- 2 min read
The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, said that accreditation has not been given to any private hospital to treat COVID-19. He disclosed this on Friday during the briefing by Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 in Abuja.
The Minister noted that although some private hospitals have shown interest to treat patients with the virus, but that none have met the criteria to receive approval yet.
“No accredited private hospital has been given approval in Abuja. Lagos is looking at some accredited hospitals. There’s one large hospital in Lagos that has called me and said they want to become a coronavirus treatment centre.
“But, at the moment, there is no hospital that has met the criteria.
“Treating of private patients is not allowed. It is risky. Coronavirus is one of the most easily transmitted diseases you can think of. So, it is not allowed to treat Coronavirus privately,” he said.
He added that there are major guidelines that need to be adhered to for a hospital to be able to successfully handle COVID-19.
“If you are a private person and you want to run a treatment centre, you have to show that you have the staff. The doctor must be an infectious disease specialist.
“You need nurses and even cleaners that are trained because the handling of this hospital is different from ordinary hospitals. They must be trained in infection control professional protocols. The hospital must be properly ventilated.
“You have to have inspection by a team of accreditors that will give you go ahead.”
The Minister said since there is no hospital that has met the criteria, treating of COVID-19 patients privately is risky and not allowed.
Ehanire concluded that earlier diagnosis treatment of COVID-19 patients is very important to avoid fatality.
Nigeria now has a total of 542 confirmed cases, 166 discharged and 19 deaths.
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