The Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) and Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) have decried the negative impact of the new naira policy on the country’s health care system.
The groups stated this while briefing journalists in Ilorin, Kwara State.
The Kwara NMA Chairman, Dr. Ola Ahmed, raised concerns that some patients may die due to the unavailability of cash to pay for healthcare services in hospitals.
He said “patients are in a dire situation as they are unable to buy the 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.
Ahmed, however, said that the Kwara NMA would visit the management of the 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.
