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Worried by the rise in sudden death among civil servants in recent time, the Ekiti State Government has embarked on a free medical screening for all its entire work force.
Briefing the journalists in Ado-Ekiti, yesterday to herald the commencement of the exercise, the state Commissioner for Health, Prof. Olusola Fasubaa, said the programme was borne out of the Governor Kayode Fayemi-led administration to reverse the trend.
According to him, "We realise that as a result of recent incidence of sudden death among civil servants in the state, there is obvious need for regular medical screening to examine their health profiles and screen for common causes of death such as hypertension, diabetes and cancers." He, however, lamented that epileptic power supply being witnessed in the state has been stalling the effective operation of the Funmilayo Olayinka Cancer and Wellness Centre in Ado-Ekiti.
Fasubaa said: "We have all our equipment there to carry out the treatment of our people, but epileptic power supply has been stalling the operation of the centre. Anytime we witness power outage and our doctors are working, all engines will shut down."
He assured the workers that those with complicated cases would not lose their jobs, saying they would be free to benefit from the state government medical assistance programme to treat such cases.
Fasubaa disclosed that eight free medical services have been done under the present administration to cater for the health needs of the people of the state.
He added that the civil servants, which he described as the pivot of the state economy were not adequately captured during those programmes.
The commissioner said: "In this health screening for civil servants, aside from medical check-ups on hypertension and diabetes, there are provisions for screening for cancers of the breast and cervix and prostatic cancers for men.
"Our women in particular will benefit from the latest technology in screening for cervical cancer. We shall be making use of Liluva scan machine that will detect very early non-invasive cancer of the cervix and this machine is being used for the first time in West African sub-region (Nigeria) for screening."
Also, the Chairman of the state chapter of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Kolawole Olaiya, who responded on behalf of the civil servants, praised the state government for deeming it fit to carry out such programme for civil servants, having done same for other informal sectors.
Briefing the journalists in Ado-Ekiti, yesterday to herald the commencement of the exercise, the state Commissioner for Health, Prof. Olusola Fasubaa, said the programme was borne out of the Governor Kayode Fayemi-led administration to reverse the trend.
According to him, "We realise that as a result of recent incidence of sudden death among civil servants in the state, there is obvious need for regular medical screening to examine their health profiles and screen for common causes of death such as hypertension, diabetes and cancers." He, however, lamented that epileptic power supply being witnessed in the state has been stalling the effective operation of the Funmilayo Olayinka Cancer and Wellness Centre in Ado-Ekiti.
Fasubaa said: "We have all our equipment there to carry out the treatment of our people, but epileptic power supply has been stalling the operation of the centre. Anytime we witness power outage and our doctors are working, all engines will shut down."
He assured the workers that those with complicated cases would not lose their jobs, saying they would be free to benefit from the state government medical assistance programme to treat such cases.
Fasubaa disclosed that eight free medical services have been done under the present administration to cater for the health needs of the people of the state.
He added that the civil servants, which he described as the pivot of the state economy were not adequately captured during those programmes.
The commissioner said: "In this health screening for civil servants, aside from medical check-ups on hypertension and diabetes, there are provisions for screening for cancers of the breast and cervix and prostatic cancers for men.
"Our women in particular will benefit from the latest technology in screening for cervical cancer. We shall be making use of Liluva scan machine that will detect very early non-invasive cancer of the cervix and this machine is being used for the first time in West African sub-region (Nigeria) for screening."
Also, the Chairman of the state chapter of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Kolawole Olaiya, who responded on behalf of the civil servants, praised the state government for deeming it fit to carry out such programme for civil servants, having done same for other informal sectors.