The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire has recently announced that no private hospital has been given approval for the treatment of COVID-19.
This information was disclosed at the daily briefing by Presidential Task Force (PTF) in Abuja, as the minister said that although some private hospitals have shown interest to treat the patients with the virus, but the fact remains that they have not met the criteria to receive approval yet.
Ehanire asserted that no accredited private hospital has been given approval in Abuja. Lagos is looking at some accredited hospitals, he added that there is one large hospital in Lagos that has called him and said they want to become a Coronavirus treatment centre.
He explained further any private facility that would treat COVID-19, the hospital's structure must be designed in a way that they are ready to remove all their present patients and do nothing but Coronavirus treatment, noting that the hospital do not stand the chance of cross-infection and 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 warned.
The Minister of Health also revealed that there are major guidelines that need to be adhered to for a hospital to be able to successfully handle COVID-19, as treating of COVID-19 patients privately is risky.
He said if you have a private hospital 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,” he explained.
He also said the private hospital must be inspected by a team of accreditors and they are the ones that will give the hospital go ahead.
