No private hospital has been accredited to treat COVID-19 - Health minister

The Minister of Health, Ehanire Osagie has said that accreditation has not been given to any private hospital to treat COVID-19.

Speaking at the daily briefing by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Ehanire said that some private hospitals have shown interest to treat the deadly virus.

The minister, however, stated that none of them have met the criteria to make them eligible for approval.

He said, “No accredited private hospital has been given approval in Abuja. Lagos is looking at some accredited hospitals. There’s one large hospital in Lagos that has called me and said they want to become a coronavirus treatment centre.

“The structure of the hospital is that they are ready to remove all present patients they have and do nothing but Coronavirus treatment. That would be good because they don’t stand the chance of cross-infection.

“But, at the moment, there is no hospital that has met the criteria.

“Treating of private patients is not allowed. It is risky. Coronavirus is one of the most easily transmitted diseases you can think of. So, it is not allowed to treat Coronavirus privately."

The Minister added that certain guidelines need to be followed before a private hospital can treat COVID-19 which is a very risky disease to treat.

“If you are a private person and you want to run a treatment centre, you have to show that you have the staff. The doctor must be an infectious disease specialist.

“You need nurses and even cleaners that are trained because the handling of this hospital is different from ordinary hospitals. They must be trained in infection control professional protocols. The hospital must be properly ventilated.

“You have to have inspection by a team of accreditors that will give you go ahead.”