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From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Officials of the National Blood Service Commission (NBSC) have requested for a working partnership with the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN) to improve health care service experience of Nigerians.
Both parties frowned at the poor working collaborations among government agencies, particularly those that have regulatory responsibilities, thus stressing the need for better and stronger working partnership for the benefit of health-seeking Nigerians.
They decried the incessant cases of inter-professional rivalry or rancour among health care professionals, stressing that such was unnecessary and should be discouraged.
A statement from the Corporate Affairs Office of MLSCN indicated that the Acting Director General of the NBSC, Dr Jimoh Suberu, made the appeals when he led his management team on courtesy visit to MLSCN headquarters, in Abuja, recently.
He said: “Our patients should always be our focus, hence there shouldn’t be superiority or inferiority complex among health care professionals. We should, rather, focus on the quality of service that should benefit the people of this country. Therefore, we must learn to work together to move the country forward.”
He said the aim of the visit was to express their appreciation for the contributions of MLSCN in the health sector, introduce the NBSC Act to the Council, and seek the support and collaboration of the Council in the regulation of blood-related establishments.
He said that though, the Act had given the Commission the mandate to regulate blood service all over the country, but his team would need the support of MLSCN as a sister agency with a lot of experience in the regulatory space.
“Specifically, we want to ensure that any medical laboratory facility seeking registration must have registered its blood service component with NBSC. We would do likewise too, but with a medical laboratory scientist duly registered and licensed by your agency.
“This will be a mutually-beneficial relationship that will ensure that the interest of the patient is put at the front burner,” he said.
The MLSCN Registrar/Chief Executive Officer, Dr Tosan Erhabor, in his response appreciated the visit, and assured the NBSC that MLSCN, as an organisation driven by quality, safety, and sustainability, is willing to collaborate with like-minded organisations to meet the yearnings of the patients for quality service.
He said: “The interest of the patients should be paramount to all of us as health professionals. We are glad that you have come to seek collaboration with us, and we are willing to explore ways of working with your commission.”
He, thus requested that they come up with a framework on how the collaboration would work, while MLSCN would do likewise, suggesting that both teams could meet at an agreed date in the future to harmonize positions as a prelude to a proper Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
