Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State, on Monday, inaugurated a total of 34 ambulances, as well as doctors, nurses and emergency medical technicians drawn from the state youth empowerment scheme (YES-O) to kick-start his government's free ambulance services.
Speaking at the official flag-off of the scheme in Ibadan, the governor said that emergency road points had also been provided for the ambulances, while arrangements had also been made with a network provider for a toll-free number.
He also disclosed that a 24-hour control room had been opened at the state Ministry of Health, complete with a 30-feet mast and a dedicated E-1 direct line, coupled with a GIS-based tracking system, to know the location of every ambulance at any point in time so as to ensure the fastest possible response times.
The governor said that the state free ambulance service was borne out of the need to reduce mortality being recorded from road traffic accident, home accidents, disasters, child births and all other types of emergencies.
"It is well known that people in these situations do not know what to do, where to turn to or whom to call. With the flag-off of this programme, help is now just 'a call away','' he said.
According to the governor, it is only in a primitive society that accident victims are carried to the hospital in open pickup trucks, commercial taxis or Okada, adding "such accident victims often die needlessly through lack of application of basic first-aid interventions.
"It is our belief that any modern society must be able to respond promptly to emergency situations, whether on the highways or in the homes''.
Governor Ajimobi further stated that any patient who made use of the ambulance service would be entitled to free drugs for the first 48 hours of his stay in the hospital, due to the N 200 million worth of essential drugs currently being distributed by the government.
He recalled that one of the priority areas of his administration's programme, as articulated in his inaugural address, was the urgent need to revamp the state health sector and restore the quality of healthcare delivery to the people of the state.
The governor lamented that hospitals and primary health centres had been in a state of infrastructural decay due to long years of neglect.
"There are not enough medical personnel and equipment are obsolete and inadequate. Despite the lack of good infrastructure and standards, the cost of healthcare is high and beyond the reach of our people, leaving them to run from pillar to post in search of money to treat the most common ailments.
The governor disclosed that his government would soon be launching the State Strategic Health Development Plan, which he said was developed in conjunction with development partners like World Health Organization (WHO), World Bank, UNICEF and the Federal Government to guide development of the health sector over the next five years.
He added that under the plan, a State Health Steering Committee would be inaugurated which would involve all key stakeholders.
Governor Ajimobi also said by next month, his administration would launch a Universal Health Insurance Initiative whose aim was to ensure that all citizens were able to minimize out-of-pocket expenses by enrolling in various Health Insurance Programmes which had been developed.
Among the programmes, he said, were the NHIS-MDG programme, the Oyo State Community-Based Health Insurance Programme and Formal Sector Health Insurance Plans for government employees and the private sector.
"To support our citizens, particularly in the rural areas who may not be able to afford the insurance premiums, our government will be launching a Public Health Trust Fund into which members of the public, charitable organizations, religious bodies can donate to increase the pool of available funds,'' he further stated.
The governor also pointed out that his administration would soon begin the renovation of government-owned hospitals across the state, as well as the provision of basic medical equipment.
He said that the state Commissioner for Health had been instructed to commence a tour of general hospitals throughout the state from next week in order to carry out on-the-spot assessments, meet with the local community, listen to their requests and ensure a collaborative approach in addressing the problems associated with the secondary and primary health care systems.
The governor said that his government had ascertained the required number of medical personnel and commenced recruitment process for a sustainable number of personnel, stressing that they would be complemented with seasonal consulting arrangements with consultants from UI/UCH and LAUTECH Teaching Hospitals.
Governor Ajimobi assured the people of his government's unflinching commitment to restoring the pacesetting stature and the lost glory of the state, urging them to maximize the opportunity which the programme had brought to their doorsteps and to cooperate fully with the operators.
In his remarks, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin, said that the free ambulance service was a new system conceived by the governor to fill a yearning gap noticed in healthcare delivery, that is, the lack of first responder capability usually leading to needless deaths on the roads and in homes.
He said that the fast response time would significantly improve survival rates from accidents and common medical emergencies in both urban and rural areas of the state.
The commissioner also said that the inclusion of YES-O cadets in the scheme as emergency medical technicians was to create a new career path for them, saying that they had received specialized training in first aid.
The Chief Medical Director of the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Prof. Temitope Alonge promised to do everything within his powers to support the scheme and ensure its success.
Via: Oyo State Government - Official Press Release