The Association of Hospital and Administrative Pharmacists of Nigeria (AHAPN) has called on President Bola Tinubu to strengthen the health sector through a review and amendment of the obsolete University Teaching Hospital (reconstitution of boards) Decree 10 of 1985 (now Act Cap U. 15 LFN).

This, according to it, will reflect the new paradigm shift in the healthcare sector, which positions healthcare as a business concern that ought to be infused with efficiency and profit orientation.

National Chairman of AHAPN, Olabode Ogunjemiyo, stated this, yesterday, in reaction to the death of Dr. Diaso Vwaere.

According to the umbrella body of pharmacists practising Pharmacy in hospitals and administrative areas of practice in the public health sector, this remains the only remedy to several cases of mismanagement that pervade the healthcare space in Nigeria.

He said: “As a measure to forestall future recurrence of this unfortunate incident and prevent loss of lives, we urge the Lagos State Government to conduct an immediate unbiased investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident, and ensure all those found culpable in the matter are all brought to justice.

“Vwaere incident is indeed heartbreaking and unfortunate. We sympathise with her immediate family, her colleagues in the hospital and members of the medical profession in Nigeria.”

“Information available to us was that she was trapped in the elevator for over 30 minutes before she was rescued. We have also noted there were issues bordering on non-availability of blood for resuscitation and this issue was as a result of policy issues on blood donation as approved by the Lagos State Government.

“For us, we submit that this was an avoidable death and it’s unfortunate it was allowed to happen. We are pained and share in the grief of her immediate family and members of the medical profession. We are well aware that this same elevator has been a source of problem for many years and it was left unattended to by the hospital management. It is very painful that at a time when the country is battling with severe brain drain, an upcoming medical practitioner that would have made her contributions to the health and well-being of Nigerians was allowed to die in such unwarranted circumstances.

“And this brings to question the quality of persons given the responsibility for the administration of the healthcare sector in Nigeria. For us, this unfortunate incident remains a recurring decimal in the healthcare administration of the country and reinforces our all-time believe and call that the administration of healthcare in the country is better put in the hands of professional administrators with bias in healthcare administration, who are imbued with the managerial training and competence to manage our healthcare related endeavours.

“It’s pertinent to posit here that in the health sector in Nigeria, stories abound of recurring cases of mismanagement of both human and material resources. A case in point is the mismanagement of the Drug Revolving Fund (DRF) of health institutions in the country through outright pillaging of its capital with a consequence of stock-outs and unavailability of essential medicines needed for preventing and curing diseases most commonly suffered by Nigerians,” he added.