Ekiti begins crackdown on illegal hospitals

No fewer than five illegal hospitals were on Thursday shut by the Ekiti State Government for operating illegally.

The Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr Mojisola Yaya-Kolade, announced the closure during an unscheduled visit of the Medical Anti Quackery Committee set up by the state government to the hospitals.

He warned residents of the state against patronising quack doctors who operate in unauthorised hospitals in the state.

Yaya-Kolade was represented during the exercise by the Director, Hospital Services and Training, Dr Rufus Adetoye.

She said that the state government was not comfortable with the quackery in medical practice in the state and would deal decisively with anyone caught in the act.

“The intention of the state government through the committee is to stamp out quackery in the state and to prevent the way innocent people are being killed by unqualified medical personnel and hospitals,” she said.

She disclosed that unqualified doctors were discovered in some of the hospitals visited, adding that this informed the closure.

Some of the health facilities sealed included Omole Hospital, Adedamola Hospital and Divine Citadel Hospital, all in Ado-Ekiti, as well as Divine Hospital and Maternity Home in Ilawe-Ekiti.

The commissioner reiterated that the visit of the committee and the law enforcement agency to health facilities would be a continuous exercise until the state was rid of quackery.

Some of the patients at the hospitals commended the state government for taking the step to stamp out quackery in the health sector. They, however, implored the government to intensify awareness and sensitisation on the development.

According to them, this would help to prevent people from falling prey to the antics of quack doctors operating in the state.