The National Assembly is set to enact a law that will affect the regulation of private hospitals across the country.
If the bill scales through, operations of private hospitals in the country will be monitored and sanctions meted on those operating below standard.
The move to regulate the hospitals is contained in the Private Hospitals Regulation Bill, 2019 (SB.13), sponsored by Senator Stella Oduah (Anambra North), which has passed through first reading on the floor of the red chamber.
However, the plan to regulate private hospitals comes against the backdrop of a revelation that a meagre N1,864 has been proposed to carter for the health needs of a Nigerian.
The amount was revealed in the Senate’s Legislative Agenda which was condemned by the lawmakers as inadequate. Resolving to embark on extensive reforms in the health sector, a motion calling for the integration of herbal medicine into the health system will be revisited on the floor of the red chambers.
The motion which was sponsored by Sen Stella Oduah (Anambra North) and co-sponsored by several senators was stood down at the floor of the Senate to be presented in another legislative day.
However worried by the state of the health sector, the Senate in its Legislative Agenda, declared that health provision is a concurrent responsibility of the three tiers of government that needs to be aggressively pursued especially at the foundation level through Primary Health Care.
The lawmakers further lamented that the percentage allocation for health comes 12th on the country’s scale of priority.