By DAVID ADEOYE

The Oyo State government has sealed five private health facilities in Ibadan and Saki over alleged unprofessional practices.

This was contained in a statement issued by Dr Wasiu Olatunbosun, the Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, and made available to newsmen in Ibadan on Saturday.

The statement indicated that the task force, set up by the state ministry of health to monitor private health facilities, discovered the illegal clinics.

The taskforce, chaired by the Commissioner for Health, Dr Bashir Bello, said that the monitoring exercise was imperative for the team to evaluate the compliance level of operators of private health facilities to government’s directives.

Bello, who was represented by Dr Wale Falana, the Director of Secondary Healthcare and Training, expressed concern over what he called the lackadaisical attitude of some owners of private health facilities in the state.

He decried the unscrupulous activities of some medical practitioners through engagement of quack staffers, lack of approval of premises where they were operating and lack of qualified personnel in some of the clinics.

The commissioner posited that the unethical and quack practices could compromise the health status of patients upon patronage, saying that three of the clinics closed were in Ibadan, while the remaining two were in Saki.

He warned that the state government would not tolerate quackery in the sector but would rather promote good practices, with a view to ensuring quality healthcare delivery in the state.

Bello urged residents of the state to be vigilant and patronise government-accredited private health facilities in order to prevent unpleasant incidents. (NAN)