The Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) and Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) say the new naira policy has worsened the healthcare situation in the country as people find it difficult to access services and drugs due to lack of cash.

The Kwara NMA chairman, Dr Ola Ahmed, said this during an interview with reporters in Ilorin, adding that some patients may die due to unavailability of cash to pay for healthcare services in hospitals.

He said “patients are in dire situations as they are unable to buy required drugs to stay alive.

“A patient that is critically sick and cannot access money to pay for drugs is a terrible combination.

“While the money transfer platforms are not easy to make as services tend not to work, some people use the opportunity to dupe people by sending fake transfer alerts, ” he lamented.

Mr Ahmed, however, said that the Kwara NMA would visit the managements of University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) and the Kwara State Hospital Management Board to discuss how best to tackle the situation to save lives.

According to him, the association will also visit both government and private hospitals to find ways to tackle the situation.

On her part, Munirat Bello, the secretary of the Kwara PSN, said pharmacists have been trying to be humanitarian in the face of the challenge by giving drugs on credit.

She added that “patients who received drugs on credit can refund when they are able to.

“But the risk is that some people don’t come back to pay. However, we will continue to engage with customers and patients to save lives.

(NAN)