Nigeria Society of Physiotherapy (NSP) Reacts To @IsaacFAdewole Buharis Sons Post-Operative Trip Statement
Nigeria Society of Physiotherapy (NSP) says it has over 250 trained specialist Physiotherapists in Neurophysiotherapy and over 500 specialist trained Orthopaedic Physiotherapists who would have conveniently carried out President Buhari’s son’s post-operative rehabilitation if they had been invited.
NSP was reacting to a statement credited to the Minister of Health.
“Our attention has been drawn to some misconceptions which have arisen from a recent interview granted by the Hounorable Minister of Health on channels television program hard copy. The minister claimed that the president’s son did not go abroad for treatment but for rehabilitation thereby suggesting that rehabilitation was not a form or part of treatment, ” NSP said in a statement signed by its National PRO Peggy-joe Odili-Olaseinde.
It asserted:
“We consider the Minister’s response to the question by the anchor of the programme that Mr President’s son had to go for rehabilitation abroad, when he was treated by Nigerian doctors as a tacit validation of allusions that other health professionals do not have the competence required to deliver quality healthcare- a position the NSP has always found ridiculous.”
According to NSP, they had been inundated with calls inquiring whether there are no qualified Physiotherapists in Nigeria who could have undertaken the Rehabilitation aspect of the management of the President’s son after he was treated by Medical Doctors.
It pointed out that physiotherapists are skilled to provide care in several areas, stressing, “NSP frowns at any deliberate attempt to undermine the contributions of the Physiotherapy profession to a holistic approach to management of health conditions especially orthopaedic and neurological conditions.”
According to NSP, “an average physiotherapist’s work is most physically demanding, with heavy caseloads (especially as most Nigerian Health Institutions have shortfall of physiotherapists).”
“We encourage the Ministry of Health to provide logistic support for the employment of physiotherapists and give due recognition to the training of specialists in Physiotherapy across board, “it stated.
By Rakiya A.Muhammad, Sokoto
