Ogun State government on Monday commenced the process of offering free surgical services to 70, 000 indigents citizens of the state.
The Executive Secretary of Ogun State Health Insurance Agency, Dr Afolabi Dosunmu, flagged off the registration of beneficiaries for the intervention on Monday at the State Hospital, Ijaye, Abeokuta.
According to him, the 70, 000 targeted beneficiaries include 20,000 pregnant women till they deliver, even if the delivery is through cesarean section.
Others are 20,000 market women and 30,000 poor people in the state.
“Among the 70,000, any other person in the state that needs surgery, they have to come down and get their surgery done,” he said.
The Executive Secretary said the intervention was a directive from Governor Dapo Abiodun to provide succour to the people at this difficult time.
Dosunmu said all public hospitals in the state are ready to carry out the directive of the governor.
“The modalities are very simple as long as you are a resident of the state, as long as you have one surgical need or the other, you are free to walk into any of our state or general hospitals and enroll on the insurance scheme.
“The doctors there will assess you, if it is a case that is ready for surgery and once all other perimeters have been concluded, we will get the surgery done,” he said.
According to Dosumu, those whose cases are not ready for immediate surgery, would be enrolled to have access to the intervention when they are ready.
He added : “It is possible for someone to have, for example, cataract, and the cataract is not yet matured, we will still enroll the person.
“We will give the person a date for when the cataract is going to mature.
“For example, if you want to remove fibroid when you see the doctor and the doctor said your electrolyte is a bit high or your blood pressure is a little bit high, it needs to be controlled before you can be taken in for surgery”, Dosunmu explained.
The Executive Secretary noted that surgery operations would start on Tuesday, February 27, 2024 as there were a lot of cases that needed urgent attention.
He lauded the state governor for impacting directly on the lives of the people.
He said : “Everything is free from the moment they walk in and get enrolled, screened and do tests as well as the surgery and even after surgery.”
Also speaking, Mrs. Olusola Akintola, a retired secondary school principal, commended Governor Abiodun for the programme.
She said it would help the less privileged take care of their medical bills while Mr. Semiu Koleosho, said he enrolled in the programme to enable his son to benefit from the free surgery.
(vitalnewsngr.com)
