LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA) – In a bid to strengthen safe blood practices and enhance the quality of blood banking services in hospitals, the Lagos State Blood Transfusion Service (LSBTS) has conducted comprehensive training for 340 healthcare professionals
This initiative aims to elevate standards in health facilities across the state, fostering enhanced patient care and safety.
Dr. Bodunrin Osikomaiya, the Executive Secretary of LSBTS, announced this development in a statement released on Sunday in Lagos.
The trained healthcare workers, comprising medical doctors and laboratory scientists from both public and private health facilities, underwent rigorous instruction on various aspects of blood handling and transfusion safety.
“With 200 medical doctors from surgery, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics, and emergency departments, alongside 140 medical laboratory scientists from private blood banks, the training aims to equip healthcare providers with necessary skills to improve service delivery,” Osikomaiya emphasized the pivotal role of such training in improving healthcare service delivery.
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The participants were equipped with essential skills in blood donor mobilization and conversion, appropriate clinical utilization of blood and its products, haemovigilance, and the critical role of laboratories in ensuring blood safety,” stated Dr. Bodunrin Osikomaiya.
Furthermore, Dr. Osikomaiya highlighted the significance of this initiative as a key criterion evaluated during regulatory inspections by the state blood monitoring and enforcement sub-committee, underscoring the commitment to upholding stringent standards in blood transfusion practices.
In a related development, LSBTS subsidized the fees for blood transfusions for residents last December.
This announcement was made during a stakeholder engagement and media chat titled, ‘Role of Media in Promoting Blood Donation,’ organised in commemoration of the 2023 National Blood Donor Day.
This proactive measure demonstrates LSBTS’s ongoing efforts to ensure accessibility to life-saving blood transfusion services for all residents of Lagos State.