Ayade Bans Use of Govt Owned Ambulances To Convey Corpses
Godwin AJOM, Calabar
The Cross River state Governor Professor Ben Ayade, has placed a ban on the use of Ambulances to convey corpses in any part of the state.
The ban was announced in Calabar by the Special Adviser to the Governor on health, Dr David Ushie at the flag- off of access to the health insurance scheme by the formal sector, which includes all Civil servants serving in the state.
Ushie said: “Health insurance reduces the risk of the 95 per cent fake drugs available in the markets. We saw the need to have the ambulances working, so we reached to His Excellency, and he approved our request.
“So from today, Ayade has placed a ban on the use of ambulances for the conveyance of dead bodies, but that they should be used to transport sick people to medical facilities. We have a referral system from primary to tertiary health institutions,” Ushie explained.
The ban is to mobilize more logistics, facilities and manpower for the implementation of the state health insurance scheme “Ayade Care”.
Speaking on the scheme, the Commissioner for Health, Dr Janet Ekpenyong, said the scheme could only be sustained by the collective efforts of everyone. She mentioned the benefits to include reduced reliance on government funding, amongst other benefits.
“Achieving universal health coverage is everyone’s business. It will ensure the strengthening of the sector, and reduce reliance on government spending, we are happy that we are formally flagging off the care for the formal sector. Right now, there is no secondary facility were we don’t have additional medical doctors and nurses, to facilitate the scheme.
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“We will ensure that drugs are available at the facilities, so that you don’t need to go buying drugs out of the health facilities where your diagnosis are done.”
Also, the Director General of the scheme, Dr Godwin Iyala, explained that “henceforth, all civil servants will have access to universal health care. The scheme is working, we are enrolling everybody.”
