Nigeria’s emergency healthcare system is set for a boost as the Federal Government expands ambulance services and develops a digital emergency dispatch platform to improve responses to life-threatening medical emergencies.
Speaking at the 11th Annual Scientific Conference and Annual General Meeting of the Intensive and Critical Care Society of Nigeria in Abuja, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Iziaq Salako, said the National Emergency Medical Service and Ambulance System (NEMSAS) has expanded from a pilot programme in the Federal Capital Territory to 34 states.
He said the planned digital platform will connect emergency callers, ambulance operators and treatment centres, enabling faster patient tracking, referrals and emergency response.
Salako stressed that improving critical care requires an integrated system linking ambulance services, oxygen supply, diagnostic facilities, health insurance and trained healthcare professionals.
“Critical illness does not discriminate. No Nigerian family should be forced to choose between financial ruin and access to life-saving healthcare”, he said.
The minister also announced plans to install more Pressure Swing Adsorption oxygen plants in health facilities nationwide and called for sustained investment in specialist training and emergency healthcare financing to improve critical care services.
