By Rose Oranye
Anambra State Commissioner for Information, Dr Law Mefor, has stressed the need for legislation to stop use of industrial oxygen in hospitals.
Speaking recently during his courtesy visit to the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Anambra State Oxygen Production Plant, Lady Nwamaka Arinze, at her office in Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital (COOUTH), Awka, Mefor expressed displeasure over the continued use of industrial oxygen in hospitals instead of pure medical oxygen, pointing out that it’s a very dangerous thing.
According to him, “since it’s proved that industrial oxygen is not good for human consumption, it should be a legislative issue. There should be a law against it; providing a clear punishment. This is because without legislation, our people will still go for what they consider cheap regardless of the final outcome.
“That is one thing I noticed in the South East. They go into wealth without morality. It’s a very dangerous thing. Every penny must be earned in a decent way. You don’t have to put people’s lives in the line because you want extra or quick money. I have seen it everywhere. Everywhere you turn, you see that high premium is placed on money over and above human lives. Ọgbọ Ọgwụ was recently closed by NAFDAC for fake, expired and banned drugs.
“The only way to really curb or contain this is through legislation. And of course, it doesn’t stop at legislation. We also need to enforce the law because sometimes, the problem is not even the absence of law but enforcement. And enforcement in Anambra State has its own challenges,” he said.
The commissioner assured that the Ministry of Information will partner the office to sensitise Ndị Anambra on the dangers of using industrial oxygen in hospitals.
Earlier, the MD/CEO, Anambra State Oxygen Production Plant, Lady Arinze, disclosed that she has the mandate of Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo to ensure that pure medical oxygen is made available, accessible and affordable to Ndị Anambra, even as she decried the use of industrial oxygen in hospitals.
“I thank God we have been producing pure medical oxygen. We always have standby oxygen in case of emergency. The challenge we are having is trying to educate some doctors who I know that they know that industrial oxygen is not good for human consumption.
“You know here in Nigeria, they only do autopsy for corpses in controversy. For others, if they are given industrial oxygen and they die, you still pay the doctor before you carry the corpse. It is ours to build and not to destroy. It is ours to save lives in any little way we can,” she said.
