The Lagos State Commissioner of Health, Professor Akin Abayomi, has said that the government is putting measures in place for the commencement of the home-based care for the management of asymptomatic Covid-19 cases because the ravaging pandemic is stretching the capacity of Lagos healthcare system and infrastructure.
Abayomi said this recently at a Town Hall Meeting organised by the Lagos Civil Society Coalition Against COVID-19. The virtual meeting had over 100 persons in attendance of seasoned panelists, civil society groups, media professionals, public health workers, among others. The goal of the Town Hall Meeting was to mobilise the support of CSOs in Lagos State for COVID-19 home-based care delivery
He said that the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in Lagos State possessed serious strain on the health care system in Lagos and thus calls for the need to put in place measures for the home-based management of asymptomatic and mild COVID-19 cases.
He explained that the state government is working on parameters to integrate home-based care into the isolation strategy for the management of cases, stressing that asymptomatic and mild stages of the infection would now be managed at home rather than at the Isolation Centres.
Abayomi noted that home-based care is necessitated by the increase in positive cases within communities due to increased testing capacity, adding that the rising numbers have reduced the available number of bed spaces in isolation facilities and made home care imperative for people with mild symptoms or asymptomatic patients.
He stressed that the state government would manage patients with moderate and severe cases at the Isolation Centres to prevent exposing others to the danger of infection.
“We are going to define who can be managed at home and who can be managed in an isolation facility. It is a bit of a simple decision. If you are asymptomatic you qualify to be managed at home simply because most people in that category will naturally get well without any medical intervention. After all, if you are not feeling any symptom you may not know you have COVID-19, nothing happens to you and you may clear the virus after seven to 10 days,” Abayomi explained.
Earlier in his speech, Permanent Secretary, Primary Healthcare Board Lagos state, Dr. Olugbemiga Aina, who spoke on the strategy of the Primary Health Care (PHC) readiness for the home-based care, said, “Lagosians have a false sense of security about getting infected with Covid-19.”
Aina called for the establishment of a home care community centre within the local governments that will help in monitoring home care patients in the community, stressing that the centres would be managed by members of the community and major stakeholders.
“Members of the community will be involved in order to reduce stigmatisation, and the team in the PHC will consist of nursing officers and community extension workers,” he added.
Aina noted that the state government would activate all relevant structures and influencers that are likely to ensure proper behaviour within the communities.
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He stressed that no government can do it all alone, hence the need to extend testing opportunities, even as the government had enlisted private laboratories.
He added that what is important is that a responsive government will also make available unhindered access to testing and on time. Some private hospitals have been pre-qualified by Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency (HEFAMAA), and we have stringent qualification criteria, he said.
He restated that testing in Lagos State health facilities for COVID-19 is free but that, in private hospitals, it will come with a cost.
Also speaking at the event, Executive Director, Centre for 21st Century Issues and co-convener, Lagos Civil Society Coalition Against COVID-19, Ms. Titilope Akosa, spoke about the roles of civil society organizations (CDSs) in fighting COVID-19.
She highlighted roles to be played by Civil Society Organisations (CSO) to include dissemination of correct information; continuous community engagement; strengthening community surveillance; and monitoring for gender-based violence.
Ms. Akosa noted that CSOs working at the grassroots level would play significant roles in the success of COVID-19 home-based care.
She highlighted recent research conducted by Lagos Civil Society Coalition Against COVID-19 on the perception about the reality of COVID-19, adding that 87% of Lagosians that responded believed that COVID-19 is real and happening and that 64.3% use one or two conventional remedies like herbal treatment regime.
She called for the need to integrate community voices into home-based care programme of the state government.
She noted that community engagement is key, adding that there are a lot of home-based care by default but lots of stigma are also happening, thus, the need for robust community engagement so that the community can be part of the process.
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