Ogun State Government has flagged off the free surgeries scheme in the state to cushion the effects of the economic challenges being faced by residents, especially those whose health conditions require surgeries.
The state said it was targeting no fewer than 70,000 residents as intended beneficiaries of the free medical surgical intervention to improve their health status.
The Executive Secretary, Ogun State Health Insurance Agency, (OGSHIA), Dr. Afolabi Dosunmu, stated this at the flag-off of the programme, at the State Hospital, Ijaye, Abeokuta.
Dosunmu said the intervention was a mandate by Governor Dapo Abiodun, as part of efforts to provide succour for people,
Speaking while monitoring the exercise at the General Hospital, Odeda, Dr. Afolabi, explained that the modalities for accessing the service were seamless.
‘’It is very simple, as long as you are a resident of the state, with one surgical need or the other, you are free to walk into any of our State or General Hospital and enrol for the insurance scheme. The doctors there will assess you to know if it is a case that requires surgery.
“The nature of the intervention will determine the date of surgery. It is possible for someone to have cataract but it has not yet matured, we will still enrol them. Our governor is keen on impacting as many lives as possible through this initiative.
“We have a matching mandate from the governor for us to enrol 70, 000 people and it is broken down to 20,000 pregnant women till they deliver, even if the delivery is through caesarean section. We will take care of the medical needs of the child delivered in the first six months. We have also been asked to enrol 20,000 market women and 30,000 poor people in the state,’’ he said.
He pointed out that the medical doctors were on ground to do necessary check-ups and use any other parameters to know any health condition that required surgery, adding that those who did not need immediate surgery would be enrolled for them to have access to the intervention.
