A professor of microbiology, James Garba Damen, has called for improved health infrastructure and complete restructuring of Nigeria’s medical laboratories to enable the country handle better the Covid-19 pandemic and any such epidemic.
According to the Head of Microbiology Department, University of Jos, Plateau state, Nigeria needs to equip its laboratories with vital machines such as real time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and molecular biology laboratory facilities to increase its chances of quickly nipping in the bud recurrence of an epidemic or pandemic in the future.
Speaking to the media in Kaduna on Sunday on the sidelines of a Northern caucus meeting of the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN) ahead of their national election, Prof. James Damen, who is contesting for the post of president, called for the inclusion of medical laboratory scientists in the Presidential Task Force and improved recognition for the profession as frontliners in the fight against Covid-19 pandemic.
“Medical laboratory scientists are frontliners in the fight against Covid-19 pandemic. What we want is government to restructure our laboratories to contain highly infectious Covid-19 equipment, molecular biology laboratory facilities and real time PCR. Most hospitals don’t have the PCR machine and molecular biology laboratory.
“We advocated that our association is supposed to be integrated in the Presidential Task Force as frontliners in the Covid-19 pandemic. Some state governments identified and recognised the role of medical laboratory scientists in the Covid-19 pandemic and included our members among the state committees.
“Medical laboratory scientists play key roles in the Covid-19 pandemic apart from conducting the initial test, even when the test is positive and the patient is infected and in isolation, medical laboratory scientists are supposed to carry out investigations on blood count to know if the patient has overcome the disease.”
Speaking on the sorry state of Nigerian healthcare facilities the don said, “our national health infrastructure is very poor and the worst is our laboratories. Many hospitals don’t have laboratory in a modern society. But if I come on board as president of AMLSN, we will give a position paper to government to work on. We will also collaborate with medical laboratory scientists council to ensure a healthy health system in Nigeria.”
Prof. Damen, who lamented the poor recognition accorded medical laboratory scientists amongst other challenges said, ” I have worked in teaching hospitals, in the academics and in research institutes, most of the challenges faced by our colleagues I’m aware of them.
“Our main challenge is with pathologists who failed to give recognition to medical laboratory scientists. We have our scheme of service but most hospitals are governed by medical doctors who refused to implement our scheme of service. We will apply diplomacy and dialogue in resolving the challenge.”
