NIGERIA SOCIETY OF PHYSIOTHERAPY REPORT OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES COMMITTEE ON HEALTH INSTITUTIONS

NIGERIA SOCIETY OF PHYSIOTHERAPY  

REPORT OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES COMMITTEE ON

HEALTH INSTITUTIONS ON  PUBLIC HEARING ON AMENDMENT

BILL OF UNIVERSITY TEACHING HOSPITAL (RECONSTITUTION OF

BOARD ETC) ACT, CAP U15 LFN WEDNESDAY, 27TH JULY 2022.

-By Dr Wasiu Abiodun JIMOH (PT)           
Chairman, NSP Establishment Committee

​The Bill aimed to:  

(1) Restructure the Composition of the Governing Board,

(2) Review the nomenclature of the head of the hospitals

(3) Redefine the qualification of the head of hospitals

(4) Provide a definite tenure of office of the head of the hospital  

The Public Hearing was chaired by the Chairman, House Committee of

Health Institutions, Hon. Pascal Obi

The Public Hearing was divided into 3 sections

(i) The Opening Session (ii) The Technical Session and (iii) The Closing Session

The Opening Session Ceremony was declared open by Hon. Ado Dogunwa, House Leader on behalf of Hon. Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila.

The Opening Session was the process of introduction of invited guests, recognition of special dignitaries and the formal opening of the public hearing for deliberations.

The Technical session was the session of presentation of memoranda by invited stakeholders and the public.

​The closing session was the rounding up and closing of the public hearing.  

Nigeria Society of Physiotherapy (NSP) was represented at the public hearing by a 6-man delegation led by the President, Nigeria Society of Physiotherapy, Dr. N. N. Chigbo (PT); other members of the delegation included Dr. F.O. Faniran (PT), a past president of NSP; Dr. W.A. Jimoh (PT), Chairman, NSP, Establishment Committee; Dr. Uwumagbe Iyare Brain (PT), a member of (NSP) establishment committee; Dr. Ukuna Martins (PT), Representative of CHOPDIN; and Dr. Nnamdi Eze (PT), Chairman, Early Career Professionals.

Other dignitaries at the hearing included the Minister of Health, Dr. Enahire Osagie represented by Director of Hospital Service, Dr. Adebimpe Adebiyi; The Registrar, Medical Rehabilitation Therapists Board (MRTB) Dr. O. T. Akanle; President, Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Dr. Uche Ojinmah; President, National Union of Allied Health Professionals (NUAHP) Dr. O.C. Ogbonna, who also led the delegation of Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU); President, National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) Nnachi Michael; President, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Prof. Cyril Osifor, etc.  

The sponsor of the Bill, Hon. Bamidele Salaam from Osun State opened the floor for presentation by the reading of the bill. He stated that the bill is in tandem with global best practices with special references to the UK, USA, and other countries where medical training has been successful.

He said the bill focuses on the overall operations of hospitals and other significant health facilities that require both health care, experience and administrative/ management acumen. He emphasized that the purpose of the bill therefore is to strengthen the administrative mechanism of the University Teaching Hospitals through the broadening of its administrative heads and entrench greater professionalism in the management of our medical tertiary institutions.

The Nigeria Society of Physiotherapy (NSP) argued in favour of the bill through the public presentation of NSP memorandum read by Dr. F.O. Faniran (PT). Other associations who made public presentation in support of the bill are National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Health Information Managers Association of Nigeria (HIMAN), Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN), Medical Laboratory Council of Nigeria (MLCN), Nurses and Midwives Council of Nigeria (NMCN), Dietetic Association (DAN), amongst others.

The Federal Ministry of Health led the bodies that were opposed to the passage of the bill. Other bodies that made presentations against the bills included; Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Medical and Dental Council Association of Nigeria (MDCAN), Association of Provosts of Colleges of Medicine of Nigeria (APCOM), World Medical Association (WMA), amongst others.

In his closing remarks, the Chairman, House of Representative Committee of Health Institutions, Hon. Pascal Obi, appreciated everybody for their attendance and civility during the process of the presentations.

He promised that the committee will be diligent and fair to all in the considerations of the submitted memoranda and in all further legislative actions to be carried out on the Bill before presenting the outcome of its Committee work to the Chamber of House of Representatives for final considerations.