Director Cautions On Use Of Health Facilities

The Primary Healthcare Services of Rivers State Ministry of Health, has appealed to residents of the state to always ensure proper use of facilities at the primary healthcare centre.

The Director, Primary Healthcare Services of Rivers State Ministry of Health, Dr Akuro Okujagu, made the call at the end of a week-long Maternal and New born Child Health and National Immunisation Day Plus, exercise in the state.

Dr Okujagu stated that although the turnout of people during the exercise was impressive, the residents of the state still need a change of behaviour towards the utilisation of the newly built Primary Health Centres (PHCs) to access the services provided there.

He explained that the major challenges facing the health centre was for people to change their behaviour and access the facilities, adding that the state government has built and equipped the health centres with medical personnel ready to provide health services to the residents of the state.

The Primary Health Care boss, explained that the objective of the exercise was to create awareness for people to access the healthcare facilities and interventions, and described the exercise as successful as it was evident in the turn out at the various posts set up for the exercise.

On the shortage of interventions, which included vaccines, malaria and deworming drugs, long-lasting insecticide nets, Oral Rehydration Solutions among others, the director said it was deliberate, to check their administration and for purposes of accountability.

According to him, “they were not given at one time. This was done to check administration of the interventions. We need some level of accountability. Interventions were given as they were exhausted at the various local government areas.”

In some local government areas visited by The Tide some people complained of inadequate financial support from local government councils, the difficult terrains, poor staff moral as a result of difference in salary structure.

At Akuku-Toru LGA the medical officer in-charge, Dr Nduye Briggs, said although the turn out was impressive, adding that it would have been better if the reverine areas were accessible.

“The terrain is very difficult, if we had a boat we would definitely not complain. Some of those fishing settlements are even more populated than the communities,” he lamented while appealing on authorities to improve on the exercise.

In the same vein the medical officer in charge of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGA, Dr Nyarawo Ekanem, commended the donor agencies for their support, stressing that the major problems faced by the team was to have the local government councils to actually see the need to make primary healthcare their responsibility.

According to him, health service delivery would improve if the health worker were constantly being trained and retrained.

The exercise, which started simulteously in the 23 local government areas of the state on Monday, July 13, 2011 and ended June 20, also featured issuance of Birth Certificates by National Population Commission (NPC).

At Chuku Ama, Ogu/Bolo LGA, the NPC official explained that people from 1988 to date would be issued birth certificates after registration while those born from 1989 downwards would be given birth attestation certificates.

The NPC officer at Omoku, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni, Ordu Innocent, said the exercise would help the commission keep accurate data of children of various age range in a particular LGA or locality and also help ease admission processes into schools and endeavours.

Tonye Nria-Dappa