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Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, has said public hospitals in the state are carrying a disproportionate patient load, treating 40% of all patient encounters despite being outnumbered 10:1 by private facilities.
Abayomi disclosed this in an X post on Wednesday, a day after inaugurating the Lagos State Task Force on Clinical Governance and Patient Safety, a new body set up to align the state’s framework with a federal nationwide initiative.
You can read about the inauguration here.
Abayomi said, “Lagos presents a complex paradoxical challenge.
“While private facilities outnumber public institutions by a 10:1 ratio, our public hospitals shoulder 40% of the aggregate patient encounters, testing the resilience of our current infrastructure.”
According to the commissioner, the structural strain has fueled the “proliferation of informal and unorthodox providers,” creating what he called “a significant oversight blind spot” that puts patients at risk in both sectors.
Abayomi said the task force was inaugurated to ensure “every citizen, resident, and visitor who entrusts their health to our system receives standardised, high-quality care that protects their life and well-being.”
He pointed to systemic pressure on health workers as a key driver of errors.
“Chronic understaffing and systemic fatigue not only facilitate clinical errors but also threaten the patient-provider empathy bond,” he stated.
“When this vital interface fractures, the resultant breakdown in trust inevitably culminates in preventable patient grievances.
“Clinical governance acts as the necessary bridge, protecting both patient and practitioner by shifting our culture from reactive, exhaustion-driven shortcuts to systemic, evidence-based excellence.”
Abayomi further explained that inaugurating this task force marks a next step toward strengthening the healthcare environment for all Lagos residents across public, private, orthodox and unorthodox healthcare delivery systems.
