By Sunday Ani
The Lagos State Government has upgraded Primary Health Centres across the state to cater for healthcare needs of senior citizens.
This was disclosed by the Permanent Secretary of Health District VI, Dr Cecilia Mabogunje, during the flag-off of the age-friendly clinic at the Primary Health Centre (PHC), Oregun, Ikeja, Lagos, yesterday.
The project specifically designed for the elderly from 60 years and above, was organised in partnership with the Lagos State Government, and supported by Robert J. Havey, the MD, Institute of Global Health Catalyzer Fund at Northwestern University.
Mabogunje also disclosed that the state government has upgraded the PHCs in the state to cater for the health needs of the elderly from age 60 and above in the state.
Addressing the senior citizens, she said: “From time immemorial, when older adults come into any health centres, they are taken care of specially, but since the creation of the district, we have ensured that this is done in a way that suits the elderly.
“So, we have a special clinic for them but their needs are different from everybody’s needs. Many of them have hypertension or diabetes, eye challenges and other old age diseases. We are looking more closely at these challenges and have a clinic setting for them which they will be comfortable coming to outside of the normal clinic days.
“This partnership is very good with Northwestern University, USA. It is coming in a timely way for us in the district because it comes with a specialised clinic and care for the elderly.
“Lagos has done many outreaches especially for the elderly. Also we have Ilera Eko, the health insurance scheme and there is an elderly package. Once they register for this, they will be able to access most if not all these packages.”
Also speaking, a public health physician and senior lecturer at the University of Lagos, Dr Adedoyin Ogunyemi, called for the expansion of health insurance coverage for older adults in the state.
Ogunyemi who is also a co-principal investigator for the implementation of age-friendly clinics disclosed that chronic conditions are common in older adults who constitute 11 percent of the population of the state.
She said: “We are formally flagging off the age-friendly clinic in Oregun PHC. Today marks the implementation of what started two years ago. The challenge with PHC across the state is that they are not very ready for the care of older adults in terms of their specific needs. Older adults present with specific health issues. They also have mobility issues, so they need to be treated in special ways.
“Definitely, chronic conditions are common in older adults. They continue to manage because, sometimes, these conditions cannot be cured. They don’t have to pay out of their pockets if insurance is in place.
It is our hope that the state health insurance scheme will be able to cover more chronic conditions like medications for blood pressure and diabetes. At the moment, insurance is for older adults, who are indigenes of the state and are vulnerable or may not have the means but coverage can be expanded to reach an increased number of older adults.
“We need to begin to put older adults on the front burner. In the next decade or 20 years, the population of older adults would have been bigger than what we have now. About 11 percent of our population are older adults but this is going to double in a few years to come and if we don’t put facilities in place, everyone will get caught up.
“Initially, we assessed 15 PHCs where we asked healthcare workers if they have been trained in the management of health conditions of older adults. Also, judging by the WHO standard, facilities such as access ramps at the entrance of the PHCs, spacious reception with comfortable shelves and prioritising them for consultation and laboratory services are not available.