The Lagos State Government has warned private medical practitioners against treating conditions outside their professional competence, urging them to refer patients to specialists rather than risk avoidable deaths and complications through inappropriate care.
The Executive Secretary of the Health Facilities Monitoring and Accreditation Agency (HEFAMAA), Dr Victoria Egunjobi, gave the warning during a meeting with the Association of Nigerian Private Medical Practitioners in Lagos, according to a statement obtained by reporters on Sunday.
Egunjobi also urged private practitioners to help the state identify unqualified operators and facilities, asking association members to provide information about individuals and centres involved in quackery.
She said cooperation between practitioners and the agency was necessary to sanitise the health sector and ensure healthcare providers complied with established standards.
The warning comes as the agency seeks greater self-regulation within the private health sector. Practitioners are expected to recognise the limits of their training and seek specialist care when a patient’s condition requires expertise beyond their own.
At the meeting, the chairman of the association’s Lagos State chapter, Dr Olusola Ogunleye, said its newly inaugurated executive officers had visited the agency to identify areas for collaboration and seek solutions to challenges facing private medical practitioners.
She raised concerns about multiple taxation, access to professional training and capacity-building opportunities, and the possibility of making association membership a requirement for registering private health facilities with HEFAMAA.
Ogunleye also asked the agency to simplify facility registration, work with the Lagos State Waste Management Authority to harmonise waste-management charges, and standardise inspection procedures.
Responding, Egunjobi said the issues raised would be considered but stressed that the agency’s priority was to maintain an orderly, properly regulated health system that protects patients.
She called for a culture of self-reporting and self-regulation among practitioners, alongside sustained cooperation with the agency.
The Director of Monitoring and Inspection, Dr Ibom A. Godswill, and the Director of Research and Statistics, Dr Olonire Olorunfemi, also urged private practitioners to obtain the required registration before commencing operations, renew their licences when due and comply with regulatory standards.
The agency said it would continue engaging stakeholders to strengthen oversight of health facilities and promote safe healthcare delivery across Lagos.
