Jaiyesinmi made this startling revelation in his address to the golden jubilee celebration of the society and the 49th annual scientific conference in Lagos, the commercial capital of the country.
The theme of the conference was : ``50 years of Nigeria society of physiotherapy; changing the culture, making the difference".
He explained that by that figure, it translated to a ratio of one physiotherapist to 300,000 Nigerians, adding that the low statistic was caused by brain drain whereby several physiotherapists had to leave the shores of the country in search of greener pastures.
"It is necessary to re-evaluate the physiotherapy aspect of our health care delivery in this country and to bring about qualitative change in tune with the hopes and aspirations of the good people of Nigeria," he said.
Jaiyesinmi paid glowing tributes to the founding fathers of physiotherapy in the country, adding that over the years, the NSP had progressively grown in stature both at the national and international levels.
``Its membership has grown from less than 20 members in 1959 to well over 1,000 and its activities have also increased manifold in different areas like organizing seminars, training programmes, conferences to awards of excellence," he said.
Also speaking, the Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, described medical practitioners as truly Godâ?s own representatives on earth by virtue of their services to humanity.
Fashola said physiotherapists play significant roles in the overall healthcare delivery of any nation, particularly in sports.
``Their job is so critical that they are the only medical personnel that could determine whether athletes are fit or not to participate in any exercise," he said.
He urged them to expand their structure by accommodating body massagers and bone setters in their body of knowledge.
``Through that you would have expanded the number of physiotherapists attending to Nigerians formally from its present 800 members," he advised.
The governor said that the public needed physiotherapists to create awareness and advocacy on how they could prevent obesity, diabetes, high blood pressures, stroke and other common ailments affecting them.
Fashola added that his administration had made it a policy that every road being constructed must have a pedestrian walk way for people to walk safely.
"Through that process, it helps our people to exercise their bodies on regular basis," he said.
Lagos - 29/10/2009
Pana
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|