Ogun State inaugurates state-wide SafeCare team for centralized healthcare quality improvement
Team to coordinate all quality assurance and quality improvement activities
- Apr 12, 2016
On 31st of March 2016, Nigeria’s Ogun State government, inaugurated a 14 man quality team to manage and coordinate all quality assurance and quality improvement activities in the state health system.SafeCare has been supporting the institutionalization of quality improvement at the state level since 2014, under the African Health Markets for Equity (AHME) program. The public-private partnership between the Ogun State Government and the AHME consortium was launched in April 2014 through the Araya health insurance scheme designed especially to increase access to primary healthcare for the poor.
Dr Olamide Okulaja a consultant with IFC/ World Bank Group representing the AHME consortium, congratulated the state for establishing a central unit for quality management, that will ensure that all facilities have a standardized structure for quality assurance and improvement. The 14-member team is made up of both private and public sector personnel. They will ensure that both public and private facilities are equitably attended to and will also engender improved care delivery in health care facilities within the state. This would encourage the state quality unit to evolve into an independent agency.
In the same light, Dr Modupe Oludipe the SafeCare Country Director highlighted the role of Dr Aigoro who, as administrative head of the health sector, is proving to be a champion in making quality improvement an integral and sustainable part of the state health system. He added that the adoption of this process by the current Commissioner for Health, Dr Babatunde Ipaye shows a high level of state ownership and an important step towards institutionalizing quality in the health system
Both the PharmAccess Quality Director Dr Nicole Spieker and the chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association Dr Odewabi applauded the efforts of the government in providing quality care for rural communities and encouraged the establishment of a custom-made model. This would fuel the process of quality management that is sustainable and able to address the gaps in community structures.
In conclusion, Dr Naifu Aigoro reaffirmed the government’s commitment to improving the quality of care and service delivery in both public and private healthcare facilities. According to him, state level interventions build systems that ensure that quality improvement at the facility level cuts across all state institutions thereby promoting a culture of quality.