title: Towards improving the administrative machinery for health care in the Midwestern State of Nigeria.
abstract: The paper discusses the present machinery for the administration of health care facilities in the Midwestern State of Nigeria and makes suggestions for improvement. The multiplicity of autonomous authorities involved in the running of health care facilities and the compartmentalization of health care into 'preventive' aspects (managed by the State Ministry of Health and Local Authorities) and 'curative' aspects (managed by the State Hospitals Management Board) are seen as the main disadvantages of the present system. A new administrative set-up is suggested, the highlights of which include the creation of a number of Area Health Boards that will have responsibility for all State Government and Local Authority health care facilities in their respective geographically defined areas of jurisdiction (this will abolish the artificial division between the administrations of 'preventive' and 'curative' aspects of health care), more professional divisions in the state Ministry of Health (which will retain responsibility on behalf of government for policy matters and the provision of health care facilities) than at the moment, a State Health Service Commission and A State Health Advisory Committee. It is important for doctors and other personnel in the health care field to know something about the administrative machinery of the health care delivery system in which they work. Apart from doctors who are trained in certain postgraduate fields, most other doctors do not appear to have any formal training in or early exposure to medical administration and yet, some of them get called upon during their career to undertake administrative duties at a very high level. This paper describes the present system of administration of health care facilities in the Midwestern State and offers suggestions for consideration for improvement. It is a well known fact that the administration of health care facilities in the Midwestern State has improved considerably in recent years. The suggestions in this paper are offered in the belief that they will stimulate discussion and eventually contribute towards further improving the administrative machinery for health care delivery in the State. The geographical entity now known as the Midwestern State was earlier known as the Midwest Region from 1963 until 1967 when it became the Midwestern State. It occupies an area of about 15,000 sq. miles, has a population of nearly three million people and is divided into fourteen administrative divisions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mental Health University of Benin, Benin City.
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Ebie
mesh_terms: D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D009549:Nigeria