Every man, at the age of 40, must go for prostate test –Dr. Qumas

By BLESSING AMEH

Prostate enlargement is on the prowl, taking toll on the health of the men folk. The Prostate Research Institute in the United States of America  in a report said that among every six men, two are likely to suffer from the disease which, if not diagnosed early and effectively treated, can degenerate to prostate cancer. Research has also confirmed that in Africa, the rate of prostate enlargement and cancer is relatively high.

Apparently worried by the dangers of the ailment, orthodox medical practitioners have been battling to proffer solutions but have not been able to achieve maximum result.

But the Managing Director of Qumas Herbs Limited,  a trado-medical expert, Dr Olasunkanmi Azeez, says that herbal medicine has a quick  remedy for the disease.

In this interview, Dr  Azeez, who is the chairman of Herbal Therapy Society of Nigeria, Lagos State Chapter (HTSN), stresses that application of special herbal therapy against prostate enlargement and prostate cancer can provide cure for the ailments.

Prostate enlargement, a killer disease

This ailment is common among the male folk and very dangerous to their health because of its complications and effects. It  affects the male organ known as prostate gland which produces semen, the milky-colored fluid that nourishes and transports sperm during ejaculation. Prostate gland is located beneath the bladder and surrounds the urethra, that is the tube that drains urine from the bladder. Whenever it becomes enlarged, the prostate would begin to wield pressure on the urethra and make urination difficult. This is common among men in their 40s and above when they witness prostate growth. This is when prostate gland enlargement occurs mostly because of the rapid growth of the central portion. The major implication here is that as the tissues in the area enlarge, they compress the urethra and partly block free flow of urine. Men who have difficulty in urinating most likely have prostate enlargement problem.

Suffice it  to say that prostate enlargement is a disease of elderly men. It causes severe pain, anxiety, discomfort and loss of consciousness. It has posed a global challenge to medical experts.

A prostate case not detected early enough can degenerate to prostate cancer. Reports have confirmed that men in their 40s and 50s are dying of prostate problems. Men in this age bracket are expected to go for tests, particularly prostate scan, to confirm their status and go for early intervention if it is confirmed that they are having prostate enlargement challenge.

On Doctors and other medical professionals

The write-up on the above by Michael Afolabi published in the Nation’s Sunday newspaper of December 11, 2011, page 13 refers. I sincerely commend the writer of the article for his courage and the brilliance in the write-up. Everything in the said article was nothing but the truth.  However, I will be glad if the Editor could publish this additional information: It is only in Nigeria that Nigerian medical doctors are ego-driven. In the civilized countries of the world, health care is a team work. No health profession is superior or inferior to the other. 

A friend in the UK once sent an e-mail on the relationship between the Pathologists  who are medical doctors and the Biomedical Scientists (Medical laboratory Scientists) in Nigeria. This was what he said:

“frankly speaking, there should be no problem between Medical laboratory Scientists and the Pathologists who are medical doctors. In the setting where I work in the UK, Pathologists do not work on the bench in the laboratory. They only relate or interpret the lab results to the clinicians/physicians and give advice on the choice of drugs. They lease with the General Practitioners (GPs) and other clinicians on how best to Manage or treat the patients based on the results generated from the medical laboratory. The lab Managers run the laboratory and not the Pathologists. We normally have weekly laboratory meetings chaired by lab Manager who is a Biomedical Scientist. It is a pity that Pathologists in Nigeria do not have idea of their specific responsibility as trained medical doctors. They need to wake up and run special clinics to help patients and their fellow Clinicians and not to struggle with Medical laboratory Scientists over medical laboratory testing….. ’’

It has been said times without numbers, that hospitals in the UK, USA, Canada etc are administered by experts in Health Management-Hospital Administrators who do not belong to any of the health professions. And the health system there is excellent. This arrangement is also needed in Nigeria so as to improve health care services to the patients.  Medical doctors as Chief Executives of hospitals in Nigeria are obviously not good Administrators. The Various Directors of administration in hospitals equally lack courage and brilliance to call erring /incompetent MDs/ CMDs to order. They are merely experts in writing queries to any other health professionals who dear challenge their competence. This is quite unfortunate and is counter-productive for an effective health system.

In various universities, Heads of the various faculties or departments training students of the different  health professions such as Medicine, Medical Laboratory Science, Pharmacy, Nursing , Physiotherapy etc  are  Lecturers  who are licensed to practice their professions. Why should the headship of the various services be by Medical doctors on graduation of such students! It is high time Medical doctors in Nigeria discard their ego and embrace practices that will advance and promote quality health services to the patients.

Toyosi Y. Raheem

Yaba, Lagos.

yekeenr@yahoo.co.uk

CONTRIBUTION TO KNOWLEDGE THROUGH PUBLICATION

 By Toyosi.Y. Raheem

Chief Medical Laboratory Scientist/TB Lab Supervisor, NIMR, Yaba-Lagos.

Introduction

Publishing results of research findings contribute effectively and efficiently to scientific knowledge. During the recent African Union TB conference at the International Conference Centre, Abuja from 3-5^th March, 2011, one of the paper presenters inquired from the  participants: “how many scientists/researchers had ever conducted a research that was never published?” And “how many Scientists/ Researcher had ever published but such publications were never implemented?”  From the response of the participants, it was obvious that a number of Scientists/Researchers conduct research, produce data but such findings were never made available to the larger scientific community. It was also obvious from the response, that quite a number of research findings were never transformed into policies and consequently, were never implemented.

The objective of this write up is to further stimulate Scientists/ Researchers on the two key areas (a) making results of scientific research available and accessible through publications and (b) to also further stimulate the scientific community on the need to form a coalition of researchers that would pursue the critical need for transforming scientific findings into policies that would form an essential framework of policy implementation. This is very key for the achievement of the Health related Millennium Development Goals especially in Nigeria.

THE PROBLEM WITH THE HEALTH BILL

 PRESS RELEASE TO MARK THE 46^TH ANNUAL SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE OF THE ASSOCIATION OF MEDICAL LAB SCIENTISTS OF NIGERIA LAGOS STATE                               BRANCH ON 13^TH JUNE, 2011.

Gentlemen of the Press, We salute your enthusiasm in ensuring that a health bill that promotes professionalism and foster team work among all the multi-discipline and multi- professionals in the health sector is passed to ensure that Nigerians enjoy the optimum standard of care replica of that enjoyed by their counterpart in developed countries.
In Europe and America, the health team is a multi-professional team with clearly defined boundaries all working together as a team to offer a quality service to their patients.  We  want to spend more time educating the public and the politicians on the need for professionalism in the health sector as it obtains in advanced countries.
We want to use this opportunity to educate the public on the roles of the various professions in the health sector to solicit public support. We always put the patients first in all we say and do about the health Bill. Our position on the Health Bill is to  advocate for that which will enhance the service delivery to patients in all our discussion particularly in the media.  Our Association wish to inform or remind the public that the health bill does not foster the interest of the multi-professional team in the health sector. Our Association will support the need for Nigeria to implement a health bill replica of that practised in most developed countries where professionalism and team work is the watchword. To buttress our position, we  challenge the public to do a research from the internet and from their families and relations abroad. They will find out that hospitals in the developed economy are run by hospital administrators (experts in health management) who are not health professional and that the health team which is a multi-discipline/professional team only play advisory role as members of the Medical advisory committee in the management of hospitals and working hard and bringing their professional expertise to bare to ensure that the public gets a quality health service. We strongly need public support. Not just mere support but support borne out of taking an informed stand on this bill based on awareness and education

No doubt, the National Assembly has good intentions in articulating the bill to strengthen the health sector. However, the reverse will be the case should this bill be passed in its current form. In fact, the National Health Bill in its present state will do more harm than good since the bill in its present form does not to take into cognizance exiting professional regulatory laws and statues in the health industry in Nigeria. The bill, will not only conflict with the existing regulatory laws and statues, but will increase the crises in the health sector in Nigeria. Therefore, the victims of this crisis shall be the innocent patients, healthcare professionals and the larger society that visit and patronize our healthcare facilities.

Please note that section 1 of the bill: Establishment of National Health System.

  (1) There is hereby established for the Federation; the national health system, which shall define and provide a framework for standards and regulation of health services…..  – this provision has already disdained and prejudiced various relevant existing professional regulatory statues in the health sector.

(2) Section (1) (1) (d) reads as follows: “set out the rights and duties of health care providers, health workers, health establishments and users….” This sub-section is not only ambiguous and irrelevant, but it also conflicts with and turns a blind eye on the existing laws that established the National Council on Establishment whose functions and powers are by law to prescribe duties and responsibilities for all cadres of workers in the public service through their various schemes of service.

Recently, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan returned the National Assembly Service Commission Bill passed by the National Assembly based on the discovery that some clauses in the Bill are at variance with existing regulations. With this, we are convinced that President Jonathan is not a President that will give assent to a bill that is not in the overall interest of all Nigerians. The Health Bill must be similarly returned to the National Assemble for corrections in those clauses that are capable of causing chaos and disharmony  in Health Sector in Nigeria.

Thank you.

Alh Toyosi Raheem (MSc; FMLSCN; FAMLSN; Cert immunol.)

National 1st Vce President, AMLSN.

POSITION PAPER ON THE NATIONAL HEALTH BILL BY THE BLOOD BANK SOCIETY OF NIGERIA

Introduction
THE BLOOD BANK SOCIETY OF NIGERIA is an umbrella body for Directors and owners of Private BLOOD BANKS in Nigeria. It is a body registered with the Corporate Affairs commission. The Society wishes to commend the National Assembly for her resolve to strengthen the health sector through appropriate legislation for health service organization and management in Nigeria. It is our considered view that this is the opportunity to remove the conflict that will arise from certain clauses and sections of the bill. It also affords the opportunity to professionalize the management and administration of the health sector by ensuring that professionally-trained administrative and management personnel are charged with the administrative leadership of the health sector in line with international best practices. This will go a long way in ameliorating the continuous decline in our nation’s health sector. May we observe that the Bill does not seem to recognize that there are a lot of legislations in Nigeria that adequately cover various aspects of the healthcare delivery system. The National Health Bill is supposed to bring all these into harmony for greater and better effect. It is in this light that we make the following observations the National Assembly might find useful.

Section 1: Establishment of National Health System.
(1) There is hereby established for the Federation; the national health system, which shall define and provide a framework for standards and regulation of health services and which shall –
Opinion: After the words “health services” highlighted above, insert the words “without prejudice to the various relevant professional regulatory statutes”.
Comments: The need to add the words as suggested is borne out of the fact that many provisions in the Bill are capable of contravening some provisions in the existing professional statutes.

Section (1) (1) (d) reads as follows: “set out the rights and duties of health care providers, health workers, health establishments and users,” and
Opinion: Sub-section 1 (1) (d) quoted above should be deleted.
Comments: the sub-section is ambiguous and in conflict with the statutory functions of the National Council on Establishment, which is empowered by law to prescribe duties and responsibilities for all cadres of workers in the public service through laid down procedure.
Section 4(1) Establishment and composition of National Council on Health

Opinion:  Insert Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN) among the listed Professional Associations in 4(1) (e) immediately after the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria as member of the National Council on Health. This is important because Medical Laboratory Scientists are statutorily and professionally responsible  for rendering  medical laboratory services in health facilities and majority of them are responsible for sourcing and ensuring appropriateness  and safety of blood for users especially in emergency cases (including primary health centres) just as Pharmacists and  Nurses are  responsible for Pharmaceutical and Nursing services respectively in health facilities. Inclusion of other essential professional associations such as the Nigerian Society for Physiotherapists and Radiographers Society of Nigeria will be necessary to make the composition all inclusive and fair representative of health professional associations.

One million people HIV-positive in Benue –Govt

·         Written by  Johnson Babajide - Makurdi

·         Saturday, 16 March 2013 00:00

THE Benue State government has disclosed that over one million out of the 4.5 million population in the state have been infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

This was made known at the training of media professional on HIV/AIDS held at the Conference Hall, Ministry of Information, Markurdi, Benue State, on Thursday.

The Executive Secretary, Benue State Action on Control of AIDS (BESACA), Mrs. Grace Wende, in a paper entitled “Basic facts on HIV/AIDS,” said that about 400,000 children living with the virus have been placed on antiretroviral drugs (ARV), adding that 708,640 adults are living with the disease.

Based on the statistics, about two out of five people in the state are carriers of the disease, with women having it more  than men.

According to Mrs. Wende, the children carriers of the disease, who have the highest infection rate, were born with the disease. These children, according to her, got the disease from mothers who failed to go for ante-natal care at government-owned hospitals where their status could have been detected earlier.

“In Benue State, the number of adults infected with HIV/AIDS was 708,640, out of which 21,259 were new infections in 2011. In the same year, 17,139 women were found positive. The number of children requiring ARV was 398,888,” she said.

Mrs Wende cited the attitude of the people of the state to unprotected sex and the rising number of youths becoming homosexuals as factors responsible for the rise in the scourge.

Speaking further, Mrs. Wende noted that many men who flock around ladies and engage in unprotected sex also transmit the virus to their unsuspecting wives.

At the moment, according to her, the state has 40 treatment centres where the free antiretroviral drugs are provided to those living with the virus, adding that the state has enough drugs in stock till 2015.

The Commissioner for Information, Mr. Comrad Wegba, regretted that despite the huge amount of funds the state had committed into the fight against the scourge, the disease was still spreading.

He blamed the practise of unprotected sex and the deliberate spreading of the disease by carriers as the major sources of the spread of the disease in the state.

 “The former governor of the state, Chief George Akume, visited Angola to see the havoc the disease wreaked on the land and ways to reduce the scourge. Unfortunately, while the prevalence of the disease has reduced in other parts of the country, Benue is getting worse by the day and this is as a result of our attitude to unprotected sex as well as deliberate move by the carriers to spread the disease,” Wegba said.

Together with Mrs. Wende, the commissioner called for behavioural change among the people, urging them to stick to a partner and use condom.

‎!! IMPORTANT HEALTH TIPS !!

@ Don't take your medicine with cold water.

@ Don't eat heavy meals after 5pm.

@ Best sleeping time is 10pm to 4am.

@ Pray 5 times daily and than surely you will feel fit and fine.

@ Don't lie down immediately after taking meal.

@ Answer phone calls from left ear.

@ When phone's battery is low to last bar, don't answer the call because he radiation is 1000 times stronger.