ONDO GOVT URGED TO EMPLOY MORE MEDICAL PERSONNEL

The Ondo State Government has been urged to employ more medical doctors, pharmacists and nurses for its hospitals.

The Chief Medical Director of the state's General Hospital, Iju-Itaogbolu in Azure North Local Government Area, Dr. Take John, made the call on Tuesday while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria.

He said this had become necessary if the government was to achieve its health programme.

John said there were only two doctors in the hospital while the pharmacy department could not run 24 hours service due to shortage of personnel.

He added that there was need to provide medical workers with incentives so that they would be encouraged to render extra services without being forced to do so.

John expressed support for the proposed plan by the state government to employ foreign medical doctors to complement the services of the local ones.

He also called on the government to provide laboratories in hospitals where they were lacking, pointing out that hospitals without functional laboratories could not perform creditably.

'It is the laboratory that will tell you what is wrong with a patient before you know the right measure to adopt for the treatment of an ailment,'' the medical director said.

He commended the government for building 'Mother and Child Hospital'' in Azure, adding that it would make a great impact on health care delivery services.

John called on the people not to engage in self-medication when they fell sick but to go to hospitals without delay.