Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The member of the House of Representatives representing Ahiazu/Mbaise/Ezinihite Federal Constituency of Imo State, Emeka Chinedu, has charged the Federal Government to urgently equip the various Federal Medical Centres ( FMCs) nationwide to be able to cope with the spread of COVID-19 in the country.
Chinedu, in a statement, on Thursday, said the FMCs across the country are currently in a very deplorable state. He stated that most of the FMCs are little more than glorified clinics, as they lack modern medical equipment.
He further noted that facilities at the FMCs are currently overstretched and inadequately staffed.
According to him, this state of affairs has oftentimes led to the “wrong diagnoses of patients who ordinarily cannot afford to go to private hospitals”.
“With the recent global developments, Nigeria more than ever needs to equip and upgrade Federal Medical Centres and government hospitals with modern laboratories and diagnostic equipment in order for them to be able to detect and contain any threat of epidemic in the country.”
“The Federal Ministry of Health should immediately equip and upgrade all Federal Medical Centres and government hospitals with modern laboratories and diagnostic equipment to meet the global standards and test practices,” Emeka stated.