Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has restated his administration’s commitment toward making the state attractive to medical doctors in ensuring quality healthcare delivery to the people.

Mr Aiyedatiwa stated this on Thursday in Akure while declaring open the 48th Annual General Meeting/Scientific Conference of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Ondo State chapter.

 The theme of the conference was: “Delivery of Quality Health Care to the People of Ondo State in thé Face of Dwindling Human Resources.”

 The governor, represented by the Commissioner for Health, Dr Banji Ajaka, said the state was currently replicating the Federal Government’s medical salary scale for its medical doctors.

 Mr Aiyedatiwa said the state was also currently upgrading its 105 primary healthcare centres, noting that about 100 secondary healthcare centres would soon be upgraded.

 He said, “Last year, we recruited nurses, doctors to the junior cadres. Human resources are a central asset in the health sector. That is how to give to people of Ondo State quality health services. Japa syndrome is not only limited to us in Ondo State. The truth is that we are understaffed, but now we have the capacity to produce more. We now have a school of medical sciences in Achievers University and Federal University of Technology, Akure, to produce doctors for us.”

 Also, Founder of Achievers University, Prof. Bode Ayorinde, urged the state government to set the pace in surpassing the Federal Government by making the state more attractive to doctors.

Mr Ayorinde, also chairman of the occasion, said the services rendered by medical doctors in terms of saving lives could not be quantified and overemphasised.

 According to him, it is the duty of every government to secure the lives and property of its people and provide basic healthcare as part of the process of securing lives.

 Similarly, Prof. Temitope Alonge, a former Chief Medical Director of University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Oyo State, said quality healthcare provision consisted of right healthcare, at the right time in the right way and the right price.

Mr Alonge, the keynote speaker at the event, said an effective, safe and people-centred healthcare service which was not delivered on time was of no value to the client who might not live to appreciate it.

According to him, quality healthcare delivery could be achieved by NMA partnering with the state government to strengthen healthcare delivery at the three tiers of the health sector.

(NAN)