The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris, on Wednesday called for teamwork among health professionals to enable them provide qualitative healthcare services.

Idris made the call at the Annual General Meeting of Lagos State Medical Guild with the theme: “Restoring Order and Balance in Hierarchy in the Health Sector,” in Lagos.

He said that failure in inter-professional teamwork and communication had led to compromised patient care, staff distress, tension and inefficiency.

According to the commissioner, physicians are team leaders who coordinate the work of a dozen or more caregivers.

“To me, there is no doubt that physicians are the clinical leaders of the healthcare organisations.

“However such leadership role must engender true professionalism and ethics, appropriate knowledge base and team spirit.

“In other words, modern healthcare is delivered by teams rather than individuals and requires the co-operation of healthcare professionals from multiple disciplines,” Idris said.

He said that health care system in Nigeria had been severally described as weak, largely uncoordinated and fragmented due to under-investment, inadequate infrastructure, management and remuneration.

Also speaking, Dr Saliu Oseni, Chairman, Lagos State Medical Guild, said that it was important to correct the distorted hierarchy in the health sector.

Oseni frowned at the wrong impression being created by some groups in the health sector of the existence of professional autonomy in the hospital setting.
“The medical and dental practitioners had remained the leader of the medical team in the health sector.

“However recent misnomer of wanting to alter this hierarchy had created an imbalance in the health sector which intent is essentially for financial gain.

“It also subsequently misled the patient and populace into having the impression that everybody in the hospital premises can administer treatment on them.

“This had in many ways contributed to quackery both within and outside public health facilities,” he said.

Oseni said it was very important to seek alternative means of health sector financing which had remained a burden on the government.

“It is very clear that we have the expertise both at home and abroad, but the equipment and enabling environment has remained difficult,” he said.

NAN