NHIS to Improve Healthcare Services to Police Officers
By Prudence Ijah, Abuja – July 19, 2019
The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) has pledged to promptly and effectively address gaps identified in healthcare services to personnel of the Police and their dependants nationwide.
This was contained in the Press Statement made available to our Correspondent in Abuja. The Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Professor Mohammed Nasir Sambo, who gave the assurance during a visit to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, at the Force Headquarters, in Abuja, described the Police Force as a critical national institution whose welfare must be promoted at all times, in view of their significance to safety and social order in the country.
The NHIS Boss therefore reiterated the commitment of the Scheme to address and resolve all areas of concern of the Police High Command regarding the experience of their officers under NHIS.
He however explained to the IGP that the issue of exclusion of certain conditions from the Scheme’s Benefit Package is a result of the high cost of treatment of those conditions, in relation to the limited pool of funds available to the Scheme.
Professor Sambo, who acknowledged the occupational hazards associated with the professional operations of the Police, promised to ensure structural adjustments and review of the business process of the Scheme, to guarantee effective healthcare service delivery to police personnel and their dependents.
The Executive Secretary further assured the IGP that he will ensure that immediate steps are taken to achieve biometric registration of police officers and their families nationwide, as well as initiate the process of accreditation of police healthcare facilities across the country.
These, he said, will greatly improve both access to healthcare service and the quality of service delivery.
The Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, in his remarks, congratulated Professor Sambo on his appointment, pointing out that it is a measure of President Buhari’s confidence in the Executive Secretary, and advised him to justify it by repositioning the Scheme for the attainment of its lofty mandate.
According to the IGP, the Police is the biggest single public institution in the country, whose officers are constantly exposed to occupational hazards such as attacks, injuries and death, hence his commitment to promoting collaborations and assistance from sister institutions to advance the safety and welfare of his men.
At the end of the interaction, appropriate officers of NHIS and the Police were directed to commence engagements that will yield the desired results of improved healthcare services to Policemen and their families across the country.
The visit to the police headquarters is Sambo’s first external consultation outside the Scheme since assuming duty earlier this week.
