Wale Jagun
The Lagos State Government has launched a Floating Clinic Boat for swift medical interventions along inland waterways and riverine communities as part of efforts to enhance access to prompt, qualitative and efficient healthcare services across Lagos.
The boat was unveiled on Wednesday, by the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr Olusegun Ogboye in Lagos.
Dr Ogboye explained that the innovation was introduced to help provide first aid, medical emergency care and basic healthcare services at accident scenes on the waterways.
“This is part of initiatives by the Ministry of Health to ensure that we extend our medical and ambulance service to the waterways, remote riverine communities and areas that can only be accessed by water”, he said.
“This is also an example of partnership between different agencies of government; the boat actually belongs to LASWA but will be operated by the Ministry of Health”.
Dr. Ogboye disclosed that the boat clinic will be deployed for the ongoing integrated measles and COVID vaccination campaign in riverine communities across Lagos State, pointing out that it is a plan initiated by the Sanwo-Olu administration to ensure that emergency services in Lagos are ramped up to improve response time.
“It is something that we have planned. That is certainly why we are starting with one boat and we are going to expand. It is a sustainable idea, we already run ambulance services, we are only expanding to include the waterways and we have the human resources to run it”, Ogboye asserted.
He stated that residents in riverine communities can access the services of the floating clinic through the Lagos State Emergency Services numbers, saying
“Once you contact the emergency numbers, the clinic will be deployed. LASWA can also deploy the clinic during emergency responses on the waterways. If there is a call about an emergency on the waterways, remote and riverine areas, the emergency process will be activated”.
Also speaking, the General Manager, LASWA, Mr. Damilola Emmanuel, described the floating boat clinic as another initiative to aid emergency and rescue operations.
“As you know, for us at LASWA, we have been gradually building emergency and rescue efforts and gradually seeing how the safety on the waterways keeps improving year after year. This is just another initiative to further add to the integrated emergency and rescue system”, he said.
