THE Presidential Medical Centre says its medical records department is struggling to operate at optimal capacity due to a shortage of trained health information officers.
According to the centre, the few available personnel are stretched thin across various wards and clinics. This has led to longer waiting times for patients and an increasing trend of misfiling of patient records.
These issues are among the challenges highlighted in the last annual report of the State House obtained by our correspondent.
The report states, “The department is not able to function to its full capacity due to lack of trained personnel. Because of a shortage of trained officers (Health Information Officers), one trained officer is posted to cover three clinics and has two or more job schedules.
“As a result, patient waiting time has increased, while some other professional jobs like data reporting are left undone.”
It further notes that the misfiling of patient records increased because staff members posted from the administrative department had no formal training in handling records.
“Since they were posted to complement the department’s workforce, filing and retrieving is the only job they can be assigned to do while the professional jobs are left strictly for the professionals. This has led to increased misfiling of patient records,” the report added.
The Presidential Medical Centre was established in 1976 to provide healthcare services for the President, the Vice President and their families, and staff working in the State House and the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
It was initially set up at Dodan Barracks, Lagos, before being relocated to Abuja in 1992 after the General Ibrahim Babaginda regime made the city the seat of government.
The Health Records Department is responsible for maintaining and preserving patient records, which are essential for proper clinical care and statistical data.
According to the report, the department aims to be a “reference point in digitalised and standard health records management” and has objectives that include securing patient confidentiality and digitalising health information.
However, the department’s staff strength is inadequate, with only 16 personnel including eight trained health records professionals, five non-professionals and three National Youth Service Corps members.
In 2023, only four employees “underwent a one-week training on the international classification of Diseases and Electronic Health Records Management System.”
From 2016 to 2022, the Buhari administration allocated at least N33.3bn to the State House’s medical infrastructure. In 2023, N455.2m was set aside for this purpose.
The funds covered recurrent expenditures like purchasing medical equipment and drugs, as well as capital projects, including the construction of the presidential wing of the medical centre, which was completed in December 2022.
A budget breakdown shows that N308.26m was allocated for general medical expenses, N8.35bn for the State House Medical Centre, and N24.24bn for the presidential wing.
In the 2024 budget, which President Bola Tinubu signed into law, N1.33bn was allocated to the medical facility, with N441.68m for overheads and N749.69m for capital projects.
The SHMC budget stood at N4.84bn in 2016. In 2017, N384.76m was allocated for medical expenses and the operation of the facility. N1.08bn and N850.68m were allocated in 2018 and 2019, respectively. This dropped to N634.14m in 2020. In the 2021, 2022 and 2023 budget proposals, N693.01m, N708.75m and N455.2m, respectively, were allocated for the State House Medical Centre and medical expenses.
A senior official familiar with SHMC operations revealed that the State House was already hiring doctors and trained personnel to fill the staffing shortfall.
The official, who requested anonymity as he was not authorised to talk about the matter, said, “What I know for now is that the State House is in the process of recruiting more doctors for its VIP wing and the other clinic, and also extra professionals for different departments.”
Meanwhile, the Permanent Secretary of the State House, Olufunso Adebiyi, announced plans to fully digitalise its operations by November 2024. The 2024 budget allocated N10bn for the “Full digitalisation of the entire State House and Lagos State offices and quarters.”
During an oversight visit by the House of Representatives’ Committee on Special Duties to Aso Rock Villa on October 8, Adebiyi stated that completing the computerisation and digitalisation process would enhance efficiency, security and the seamless operation of critical administrative functions across its seven cost centres.
These cost centres are: State House Headquarters, State House Operations President, State House Operations Vice President, Office of the Chief of Staff, Office of the Chief Security Officer to the President, State House Medical Centre and Lagos Liaison Office.