The Lagos state government has expressed concerns over the habit by hospital managements in the state of engaging the services of foreign medical practitioners whose certificates and licenses have not been verified by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN).
Chairman of Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency HEFAMAA’s Governing Board, Dr Yemisi Solanke-Koya, said the practice of hospitals engaging Foreign-Based Transient Medical Doctors (FBTMD) was unacceptable.
She said she was particularly concerned about their credentials and experience, especially for ‘designated specialties.’
As part of its effort to show how seriously the state government feels about the issue, the Lagos State government shut down Vedic Lifecare Hospital for employing foreigners not licensed to practice in Nigeria.
The Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency (HEFAMAA) shut down the Lekki facility for engaging three foreign doctors and one nurse with unverified certificates.
The foreigners were also not licensed by any professional body in the country, according to the agency’s Executive Secretary, Dr Abiola Idowu, on Tuesday, November 2, 2021.
She said the closure of the facility will not affect the in-patients already admitted.