Date: 2020-11-01

A Public Health Physician, Dr. Taiye Omojasola, says the plan by the Federal Government to establish regional geriatric centres to provide clinical care for the elderly in the country is a waste of resources and duplication of efforts.

He argued that rather than establishing regional geriatric centres, the government should use the money to strengthen existing structures at the tertiary institutions and set up geriatric units in those that do not have.

Omojasola, with interest in the care of the elderly, stated this during an exclusive interview with PUNCH HealthWise on Tuesday, adding that the plan would not solve the problem of the elderly in Nigeria.

Coordinator, Healthcare Package for Improving Quality Care on Ageing Population in Nigeria, Dr. Saidu Dumbulwa, had during this year's International Day of the Older Persons celebrated every year on October 1, announced plan by the Federal Government to establish regional geriatric centres.

"At this moment, I am telling you that as far as the clinical care is concerned in trying to align to the health system, the global health system on the health care of the older persons; we have planned to actually establish regional geriatric centres that will address this issue of gross inadequacy of the workforce.

"As we are forging ahead to achieve the 2020-2030 Sustainable Development Goals, we cannot achieve that without focusing on the elderly people with their population of over 15 million Nigerians that are over 60 years of age", Dumbulwa had said.

But Omojasola, who is the Medical Director of Omolola Specialist Hospital, Ilorin, Kwara State, said, "Establishing regional geriatric centres is a  duplication of efforts and waste of resources.

"Rather than doing that,  the government should strengthen existing structures on ground in our tertiary  institutions and create geriatric units in those that do not have.

"The government can take advantage of all the other specialties and sub-specialties that are already domiciled in those institutions. When you establish regional geriatric centres, are you going to provide specialists for all those specialties again?

"In terms of allocation of resources, how does that make sense? Apart from that, socioculturally, how many elderly people like to be dislocated from their social environment to a hospital somewhere?

"We already have well established departments and specialties in our tertiary institutions.

"We have many cardiologists, ophthalmologists, endocrinologists, nephrologists, orthopaedic surgeons already in the system that can take care of peculiar needs of the elderly."

He noted that the concept now is to have health care as much as possible under one roof.

"All you need is just to set up a geriatric unit that will focus on the peculiar needs of the elderly.

"The government should use the money that it wants to use to establish geriatric regional centres to set up a geriatric unit attached within each teaching hospital and federal medical centre in the country.

"That is more useful, functional and a better use of fund and resources", he said.

The physician noted that there was a disconnect in the health system in Nigeria, stressing that the health structure itself needs to be overhauled to make it functional at the primary healthcare level.

"That is where we need to pay a lot of attention. Most government policies do not get to the end users who are at the community level because there is a disconnect between the different levels of healthcare.

"You cannot achieve healthy aging at the age of 60 or 65 without an existing functional health system that catered for your health needs when you were 30 or 40 years.

"So, you need to have an overall health system that is functional and all encompassing for everybody.

"The system ought be tailored to the needs of the elderly because as they grow older, they are faced with health challenges such dental issues, hypertension, diabetes, arthritis, visual impairment, prostrate issue, among others", he said.

Geriatrics is the branch of medicine or social science dealing with the health and care of old people.

The President, Association of General and Private Medical Practitioners of Nigeria, Dr. Iyke Odo, had said that the number of geriatricians in Nigeria is less than 100 in total, serving a large number of old people in the country.