Some transport unions in Lagos State are to establish health centres in motor parks across the state, to ensure that their members maintain good health.
Alhaji Tajudeen Agbede and Alhaji Musa Mohammed, Lagos State Chairmen of National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and Road Transport Employers’ Association (RTEAN) respectively, disclosed this in Lagos on Saturday.
They said the decision to establish the centres was prompted by a report of the Lagos State Government in 2015 that most commercial drivers diagnosed, had high blood pressure and other related diseases.
“We have always taken the health care of our members paramount and had been sensitising them on their health as well as inviting health personnel at some of our gatherings to check their health status.
“We hope to build standard centres with qualified medical personnel to work in them,’’ Agbede said.
He said that the health centres would also help passengers because there were instances when pregnant women put to bed at the parks.
Mohammed, on his part, said that establishing the centres at motor parks was very `essential and important.’
He said that most commercial bus drivers found it difficult to create time and check their health at hospitals, but instead, preferred to take herbs and concoctions.
“RTEAN conducts routine health check on drivers; we hope to intensify regular check on drivers before they embark on journeys as this would help reduce accidents.
“Most accidents occurred due to fatigue or high blood pressure triggered by the deplorable condition of roads or longer hours on the wheels.
“The need for health centres is not only for our drivers, but also passengers; on many occasions, we attend to sick people or women going into labour at the park, so there is need for the centres,’’ Mohammed said.
The Lagos State government on Thursday disclosed that over 99 per cent of commercial bus drivers are hypertensive, a condition it said could partly be attributed to the traffic congestion in the state.
Mr. Dayo Mobereola, the State’s Commissioner for Transportation, who was represented at a forum by the Director of Transportation, Planning, Policy and Coordination, Dr Olufemi Salam, gave this indication