Ogun Kickstarts Free Surgery Intervention Programme

• Photo: Cross section of people registering for the 70,000 surgical intervention programme at the state hospital, Ijaye, Abeokuta*

Ogun State government on Monday began the process of offering free surgical services to residents of the state.

The Executive Secretary of Ogun State Health Insurance Agency, Dr. Afolabi Dosunmu, who stated this at the flag-off of registration for the intervention held at the State Hospital, Ijaye, Abeokuta, said the intervention was a directive given by Governor Dapo Abiodun to provide succour to the people at this difficult time.

Dr. Dosunmu said 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 those whose cases are not ready for immediate surgery, would be enrolled for them 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”, Dr. Dosunmu explained.

The Executive Secretary noted that surgery operations would start on Tuesday as there were a lot of cases that needed urgent attention.

“We have a matching mandate from the governor for us to enroll 70,000 people and it is broken down to 20,000 pregnant women till they deliver even if the delivery is through cesarean section. The child is delivered, in the first six months, we will take care of its medical needs.

“We have also been asked to enroll 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 lauded the state governor for impacting directly on the lives of the people saying, “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, saying 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.

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