The Rivers State Interprofessional Anti-Quackery Committee has taken decisive action against illegal medical practices, sealing six health facilities across the state and arresting two suspects.
The operation, led by the Director of Medical Services, Dr. Vincent Wachukwu, and the Rivers State Chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Dr. Diamond Tamunokuro, is part of an ongoing effort to sanitize the state’s healthcare sector.
According to a statement signed by the committee’s secretary, Dr. Hope Ovundah, the team’s investigations revealed alarming conditions at several facilities. One of the sealed clinics, Bristol Clinic and Maternity, in the Rumuodomaya area, was found to be a three-bedroom apartment that had been illegally converted into a six-bed hospital.
The facility was allegedly being operated by Mr. Kingsley Ugwu, who posed as a doctor and was performing maternity and surgical services despite having no medical qualifications. Mr. Ugwu was arrested and handed over to security agencies for quackery and impersonation.The report also has it that another facility, Adoration Hospital & Maternity, in Omagwa, was shut down for similar violations.
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The committee discovered that the “hospital” was nothing more than a three-room shop. The facility was found to be staffed by a young doctor who was only a month into his post-internship, alongside ten auxiliary trainees. Both the young doctor and the proprietor of the illegal facility were summoned to the Ministry of Health and the NMA Disciplinary Panel for further action.
The committee’s operation is the latest in a series of crackdowns aimed at protecting residents from unqualified practitioners. Authorities noted a trend of illegal facilities operating in the outskirts of Port Harcourt in an attempt to evade detection. The committee warned that it would continue its zero-tolerance stance against any individual or facility that endangers the lives of citizens by practicing medicine without the required qualifications and licenses.
