The Kano State Private Health Institutions Management Agency (PHIMA) has urged private healthcare providers to charge reasonable fees and avoid exploiting patients seeking medical services.
The agency’s Acting Director-General, Hajiya Khadija Sa’id, made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Kano.
Sa’id said the agency used its regulatory and supervisory responsibilities to encourage private health facilities to provide quality services at affordable rates.
She explained that during registration, renewal and supervisory inspections, PHIMA reminded facility operators to consider patients’ welfare when determining their charges.
“We always tell them, please do not make exorbitant charges because we are not collecting exorbitant fees too,” she said.
According to her, the agency’s objective is not to generate excessive revenue from private health facilities, but to ensure residents receive quality healthcare at reasonable costs.
“We are not out to make profits. We want to ensure that people are given the best in healthcare at a minimal cost,” she said.
The acting director-general urged healthcare providers to recognise the trust patients placed in them and avoid treating healthcare services as an opportunity to make excessive profits.
She said affordable charges and quality services could encourage patients to return to registered facilities whenever they required medical attention.
Sa’id, however, warned residents against choosing unlicensed healthcare providers simply because their services were cheaper than those offered by registered facilities.
She said patients who patronised unqualified practitioners risked infections and complications that could eventually cost more to treat.
“There is a Hausa adage that says something cheap will not make beautiful,” she said, urging residents to verify the registration status of facilities before seeking treatment.
She added that the agency inspected facilities to ensure compliance with registration requirements and professional standards, including the qualifications and valid licences of healthcare personnel.
The acting director-general said stronger inspections and enforcement would help protect patients while encouraging private providers to maintain acceptable service standards.
She appealed to residents to report suspected illegal healthcare facilities to the agency to protect themselves and other members of the public.
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