The Lagos State Government has unveiled plans to expand six general hospitals across the state by increasing their bed capacity by at least 50 per cent to improve access to healthcare services.
The plan, according to the government, will cover general hospitals in Alimosho, Ikorodu, Badagry, Epe and Odan, among others, as the government moves to address inadequate bed spaces and the growing number of patients seeking treatment.
Speaking during a popular television interview on Monday, Deputy Governor and 2027 governorship aspirant, Obafemi Hamzat, said he would expand the state’s hospitals if elected governor, noting that the facilities were receiving patients from different parts of Lagos and beyond.
Hamzat stated that although doctors in the state’s hospitals were performing well, the shortage of bed spaces remained a major challenge to effective healthcare delivery.
“Our plan is to take six to seven general hospitals Alimosho, Ikorodu, Badagry, Epe, Odan General Hospital and expand them. We must increase the bed size by a minimum of 50 per cent so that we can cater for people,” he stressed.
He noted that the government was concerned about the pressure on existing facilities, noting that many patients were unable to access hospital services because of inadequate bed capacity.
“Our doctors are doing well, our doctors are doing great, but people say, ‘Oh, there’s no bed.’ Because the number that comes in is not just from Lagos. People come from everywhere, and therefore we must then expand that,” Hamzat said.
The Deputy Governor also disclosed plans to expand maternal and child health centres across the state to sixteen as part of efforts to reduce maternal and infant deaths.
According to him, increasing the capacity of maternal healthcare facilities would enable more women and children to receive timely medical attention and ultimately save lives.
Hamzat asserted that the state was targeting a significant reduction in its maternal mortality rate, which he put at about 333 deaths per 100,000 live births, compared with about 401nationally.
He said Lagos would seek to reduce the state’s maternal mortality rate to 200 deaths per 100,000 live births, describing the target as a key objective of the government’s healthcare plans.
“Lagos is 333. We should cut it down to 200. That must be our target,” he said.
Hamzat emphasized that the state government would introduce measures to ensure that children below the age of 18 remain engaged in education or vocational training.
He added that children under 18 must either be in school or learning a trade, adding that the government would work with parents and establish new agencies and structures to ensure compliance with the policy.