BY GABRIEL OLAWALE

To improve the healthcare system and service delivery in the state, the Lagos State government is introducing a new patient friendly insurance policy tagged, “Lagos State Passenger Insurance Policy.”

The scheme is designed to give enrollees opportunity to call for ambulance services in an emergency situation.

At a Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency, HEFAMAA, stakeholders meeting in Ikeja, Special Adviser on Public Health to the Lagos State government, Dr. Yewande Adeshina hinted that sensitisation and awareness on use of ambulance and emergency lights in the state was paying off and people are now relying on the Lagos State Ambulance Services, LASAMBUS for transporting patients in case of emergencies.

Under this scheme, private facilities will be provide supportive service to complement the LASMBUS at a reasonable terms.

“The scheme will enable us to centralise private ambulance system in a way that when there is an emergency in a particular area, we can look at our dashboard and check for the private facilities in that area that can quickly evacute the patient to a nearby General Hospital or whereever they need to go.

“The Lagos State government has about 330 health facilities with over 3,000 private facilities, so there is disproportionate representation of health care provision and is only imperative that we embrace private sector collaborate so that they can enhance what government is doing in provide better healthcare for citizens in the State.”

She said registration and supervision will be carried out by HEFAMMA and any ambulance without necessary requirement and personnel will not be authorized to utilise the ambulance logo. Under the scheme, the ambulance system operating according to the recommendations will get a refund.